I Could Never Hate You
by Blank.Verse.Bloopers
Summary: Hinata is sent to work for Sasuke, and is made a slave. Not exactly fun. Luckily, it's Naruto to the rescue! But will Hinata be in over her head? NaruHina, SasuHina One Sided, some Sasuke OOC rated M for language and sexual content
1. Chapter 1

**My very first fanfic...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor it's characters, etc**

**On with the story!

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A girls opal eyes stared into the black abyss behind her eyelids that seemed to be her current life. She hated her old life, she hates this life. Life was just plain suckish lately for the girl.

Two weeks ago she was the heiress to the most prestigious and influential clan in Kohona. Needless to say her father wanted her be an ANBU level ninja, though she's only 18. He would send her on unnecessary missions to supposedly "help her prove herself" Every time the stress of the situation mounted on top of her families expectations would get to her. She wouldn't be able to think strait and she would make crucial, careless mistakes. She never made these kinds of mistakes on regular missions. Because of her recent failures, the Hokage had stopped sending her on regular missions as a way to help her relieve stress of whatever. More likely, her father had told her not to, as to not "further embarrass the clan."

That's basically what brought her to her current situation. She had been sent on another mission for her family. To make a long story short, it didn't go well. Neji had to save her. He didn't mind, but Hiashi sure did. A branch house member saving head house member. This did not bode well. (A/N: yes I know Hiashi and Neji are on good terms after the Chunnin exam, but that doesn't mean he can't be mad at poor Hinata) Needless to say, he was pretty pissed. And a pissed off Hiashi is not happy Hiashi. The council of the Hyuga clan decreed that Hinata must be punished, so here she was, walking with Neji toward her temporary home.

"Are you sure you're ok with this, Hinata?"

"You know as well as I do, Neji, that this not out of my own free will."

Neji scowled, his cousin had a point. She was being sent to be a maid at the Uchiha mansion. It's not the type of thing one does willingly. The Hyuga and Uchiha clans had not been on good terms lately, even if there were only two surviving members of the later. The rest had died in some horrible accident, the details of which were unknown. Moral of the story, Hinata was being sent there not only for punishment but also in hopes to relieve tensions between the two clans.

As the approached the door, Neji inwardly sighed. This was not right, who in their right mind turns their own daughter over to these two. Still, Neji was in no place to argue with Hiashi. He knew his place, plus he valued his life.

Neji lifted his hands to knock, but before he could reach it, it was opened by none other than Uchiha Itachi.

Neji straighted and presented his cousin, at which Itachi smirked. At this Neji received a cascade of shivers up his spine, which he desperately tried to conceal with no avail. Itachi chuckled at the younger ninja who was by now thoroughly embarrassed.

"I believe I can take things from here, Hyuga," said Itachi while ushering Hinata inside, "you are free to go."

Neji bowed and hurried off, after all it was long walk home and he had to do things and... Oh, who was he kidding, Itachi scared the crap out of him.

The door closed behind Hinata and she got her first look at the Uchiha mansion. Yes, mansion was a good word. The place was big and insanely gorgeous, did I mention it was big? As Hinata stood now studying the hall (yes they're only in the hall at this point) Sasuke began walking toward them.

"Ah Sasuke," Itachi's voice broke the spell over the young girl, "could you please take over this matter," he gestured to Hinata.

"I suppose."

"Good."

"Hn."

Wow, they are men of few words apparently.

"Follow me," said Sasuke coldly as he led her upstairs, "this will be your room."

It was plain room with white walls and a small bed. There was a nightstand next to the bed and a door on the other side of the room, which Hinata assumed was the bathroom. Overall, it wasn't a very impressive; after all, she was only a maid here.

Sasuke looked at what she was wearing and said, "You'll need a uniform." It was more an order than a statement "I'll see if I can find one for you." He said as he closed the door, leaving the small girl in the emotionless and empty room.

Woohoo-line breaker time!

About an hour later (there was a clock in the room too) a sound was heard form her door, someone was unlocking it. 'Weird,' she thought, 'I don't remember Sasuke-san locking the door, oh well.' She stared at the door, waiting to see Sasuke enter. Sasuke opened the door, but he was not alone. He was followed by a blond boy who was carrying a large stack of what appeared to be towels and such. Sasuke merely, stepped aside to let the boy enter, and then walked away shutting the door behind him.

The boy looked at Hinata for a moment, and then smiled.

"You okay?" he asked out of genuine concern

"I'm not sure."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

Hinata smiled at his understanding. The boy blushed slightly.

"So..." he began, "er, here are your towels for when you, er, need towels, and your uniform is on top."

Hinata picked up the shirt and top, they were simple white garments. Made of some kind of cottony material, they were loose. It was basically what the boy was wearing, except she had a skirt instead of pants. She looked at the clothes and sighed. The she noticed something else that had been sitting under her clothes on the towels, a silver chain. She glanced up at the boy; he was wearing a similar chain around his neck.

"S-So," she said still looking up at the boy, "d-do you, uh, w-work here t-to"

The boy cocked an eyebrow at her and said, "Huh? Oh, um, I think you might be a little confused." the smile disappeared from his face. "The Uchihas don't keep servants." He paused for a moment, "Only slaves."

"I suggest you put those on girl." came a voice from the door. The two looked up to see Sasuke standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. "You," he said looking at the blond boy, "out." The blond boy shot a look at Hinata that seemed to say 'good luck.' He then bowed to Sasuke, and exited the room.

As soon as he was out, Sasuke shut the door, and proceeded to look at Hinata with cold, piercing eyes. "I am here to explain some things to you, because it appears that they were not explained to you beforehand."

Hinata nodded, knowing exactly, where this was going.

"You are a slave here. You will do what I say, when I say it, no exceptions. My brother and I are your masters as long as we decide to keep you." Sasuke then proceeded to place the chain around her neck and whispered in her ear, "I own you." Hinata felt a ripple of shivers travel down her spine. Sasuke smirked apparently please with her reaction and then left the young girl alone with her thoughts.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

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A/N: Just FYI, Sasuke will continue to be the villain of this story, so if you have a problem with that, then you're missing out on my awesome writing talents! This will also be a NaruHina story since I think they're so cute together. If you have a problem with that too, then you have way to many problems for your own good!


	2. Master?

**Okay, so here's chapter two! I am incredibly proud of myself and you should be too! If you are...review!**

**Disclaimer: I still have no ownership of Naruto**

**FYI: There is some Sasuke OOC in this chapter, don't worry, it's not too bad...but I still feel you should be warned. Now that you have been, on to chapter two!

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CHAPTER 2

Hinata's first assignment was to clean the house. Did I mention it was big house? The Uchihas were out on some sort of business meeting, so it was clean the giant mansion day! She soon discovered that she wasn't the only servant, or rather slave, that worked at the mansion. Obviously there was the blond boy, but there were about four others. They didn't talk to Hinata at all, witch only added to her feelings of loneliness. At about noon, she was busy cleaning the office, when the blond boy came in.

He looked surprised to see her, but then instantly smiled. "Hi," he said, for some reason it made Hinata blush. "Er, I was going to clean in here but I guess not." He rubbed the back of his head as he glanced at the books on the shelves. He walked over and began reading the titles displayed on the spine.

Hinata studied him. His skin was tan, and he had a well-built body. Even though he was wearing long sleeves, she could see he had muscular arms and legs. His face was marked by three lines on each of his cheeks and his eyes were a cascading shower of blue. He realized she was watching him and then he stopped and turned to look at her. Hinata blushed again and looked at the floor.

"I-is it always...this l-lonely here?" she asked.

"I guess. I haven't been here for too long myself, but from what I've seen the other slaves don't talk to each other much. I guess they're really afraid of those two, but they've never given me an order not to talk to anyone..." he shrugged. "They're loss if they want to waste their voices saying 'yes master' all day." The boy then had a moment of realization of what he had said "oh, uh..."

Hinata giggled, "Don't worry, I won't say anything."

The boy looked relived, and then shot one last look at the bookshelf and proceeded to exit the room.

"Oh...um...b-by the w-way, I, er, I mean, I'm Hinata..." she blushed

"Oh. Er, I'm Naruto."

Later that night she sat picturing his face and his well built body. Imagining what his chest looked like. She blushed when she found herself thinking such things. He was so kind, and so unafraid; he made her feel like there was something she had been missing in her life up until now. He was...

"Good evening."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the one and only Uchia Sasuke

"Oh...G-good evening Uchiha-sama."

"You will address me as master from now on."

"Oh...yes."

"Yes...?"

"Yes...master." Hinata looked at the floor and didn't see Sasuke's smirk.

"Lovely." He said and sat down behind her on the bed as he began fingering her collar

Hinata was starting to get uncomfortable. Unsure, she asked Sasuke if there was anything else she could do for him. He turned and smirked at her and said, "Yes, I believe there is."

The next thing Hinata knew Sasuke pinned her down and began to passionately kiss her. Frankly, she wasn't having the time of her life. She struggled against Sasuke's grip.

"This could be more fun than I thought." another smirk.

Hinata felt a rush of fear as Sasuke began to kiss heragain. This time, she didn't struggle. She was all out of energy and she knew that he was that much stronger. He stopped and looked at her. Another smirk.

"Aww. Is that all for tonight? It's more fun when you struggle you know." Sasuke said stroking Hinata's cheek. "Well, until next time then." He left Hinata's room and she heard him lock the door on his way out. Hinata knew why this time. Suddenly running away had a bit more of an appeal.

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**END OF CHAPTER 2 **

**A/N: I apoligize for the shortness of this chapter, the next one will be longer! I promise! REVEIW! **


	3. Hinata Gets Violent

**Yey! I got a really positive response from people reading the other chapters. Woohoo!  
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**Disclaimer: Yeh...I didn't own Naruto before, what makes you think I would own it now. I do not own Naruto!**

**There will be some Sasuke OOC and a bit of Hinata OOC...again...don't worry, all is under control...and they story works better with it. On to the story!

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CHAPTER 3

The next day, Hinata awoke peacefully, and then all at once, her memories from the night before came flooding back to her. Imagine her headache. She felt the pressure and stress suddenly mount upon her and she hugged her knees close to her, and she began to cry. Her tears fell upon the collar that she had been forbidden to remove. She tugged limply at it, with no avail. Sighing, she got dressed and reported for her assignment for the morning. As usual, the two Uchiha brothers were off doing whatever is they do to have so much money. Unlike yesterday, each slave had an individual assignment. Her task was to weed the garden. Hinata was just happy to not be cooped up in her bland white room all day. She began her task of pulling out the stubborn plants as the sun beat down on her neck. She wiped the sweat off her face and sighed. 'This really is hard.' she thought to herself. She took a moment to sit and rest, and she notices a figure in front of her with bright blond hair was trimming the hedges. She blushed a bit when she caught herself staring at him. He wiped the sweat from his neck, and proceeded to remove his white shirt. (A/N: it was THAT hot people, he doesn't even know Hinata is there yet) Hinata blushed even darker at this and let out a giggle.

Naruto, hearing the girl's laugh, said, "Oh, shit!" and pulled his shirt back on. "Uh, please dont tell the Uchihas I took my uniform off ok? They'd kill me."

"O-ok. I-I won't t-tell."

"Great." he breathed a sigh of relief, and preceded to pull his shirt off and continued clipping the hedges.

This gave Hinata a loverly (A/N: yes that's a word) chance to stare at his well-muscled chest. His entire body was seemingly perfect. His muscles were just the right size, but she could tell he worked out a lot. He looked so strong, yet not threatening. Basically, he was frikin hott! Hinata once again she caught herself staring and blushed a vibrant shade of red. She sighed and continued with her work.

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Three hours later, Hinata was groaning inwardly. She couldn't help but wonder why on earth the Uchihas had such a massive had never seen so many weeds in her life! She sighed as she wiped a few stray beads of sweat from her forehead. It was really hot. In fact, Hinata was starting to feel a little dizzy...

_Thud!_

Naruto wiped around from his hedge trimming duties to see a fallen Hinata, lying in the dirt, with her eyes closed.

'Shit,' he thought, 'she must have passed out from the heat.'

He ran over to her still form and thought, 'Wow, she's' really pretty. She looks so peaceful. Crap! This is no time for that, she just passed out baka.' After reprimanding himself, he picked up Hinata bridal style and began to carry her toward the house. Somewhere along the way, Hinata woke up. She groaned a bit, as most people do after regaining consciousness, and then opened her eyes to find herself lying in Naruto's arms against his awesome bare chest.

"Naruto...?"

"Phew! You're awake! You passed out form the heat? Can you walk?"

"I think..." Hinata attempted to stand. 'Attempted' being the key word.

Naruto winced, and picked her up again, "Guess not."

He brought her inside and laid her on bed. He returned moments later with a glass of water.

"Here drink this."

So she did. He had his shirt back on now.

"Did you finish the weeding?"

She nodded.

"Good, then you can spend the remainder of the day resting."

"Thank you, Naruto-san."

The blond chuckled, "Please, drop the 'san.' Friends shouldn't be so formal with each other."

"Friends?" Hinata stared at him wide eyed

"Unless, you don't want to be my friend that is," Naruto's eyes drifted to the floor, "I'd understand."

"I would love to be your friend Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled a big goofy smile at her words, and then walked out of the room, leaving Hinata to her thoughts.

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Later Hinata lay in her bed. It was almost midnight, but she was still awake. She couldn't get the image of Naruto out of her mind. She couldn't help but think she'd seen him somewhere before, regardless, he was the only person in her new life that seemed to truly care about her. She liked having a friend.

As she mulled over these thoughts, a small clicking noise came from her door. She recognized it as the door being unlocked, and there were only two people who had the key, neither of which she wanted to see right now. The younger of the two, stepped into her room, and she gasped in surprise. He smirked, and approached the bed she dared not move herself from.

"So, my pet, how have you been?"

"Fine."

"Really? Because I heard that you passed out in my garden today."

"Oh...yes...well..."

"And I also heard you were carried in by another slave of mine? Is this true?"

Hinata nodded.

"You will not speak to him anymore, is that clear? He has already been punished for touching my property. You will stay away form him, unless you happen to be working near each other. You will not acknowledge him in any way. Is that clear?" He said in a harsher tone.

"Yes."

"Yes...?"

"Yes master."

"Good girl." He said, pushing her down onto the mattress as he pressed his lips against hers. She tried to push him away. Result: absolutely nothing. He then removed her clothes, so that she was lying in front of him in only her underwear. She struggled more under his grasp, while he pressed himself against her kissing her, his tongue having a grand old time exploring her mouth. She gasped for air as he paused form kissing her to caress her face. Hinata took the opportunity and bit him.

"Damn it!" said Sasuke, obviously not expecting that. Hinata could see the small dribble of blood gleam in the moonlight.

"You pay for that bitch!" He then proceeded to pick her up and lay her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. He carried her down several flights of stairs, and she was starting to get cold. She shivered in his grasp. Sasuke chuckled.

"Next time, don't be such a bad girl." They had reached their destination; it was what appeared to be dungeon. It was actually a room inside his basement, but there was one window on the door, and it had bars on it. He basically opened the door and threw her in. Her head hit the cement floor and she passed out.

Hinata awoke to find herself being shaken awake by none other than Naruto. Hinata groaned and Naruto smiled.

"Yey! You're alive!" Naruto whispered

Hinata smiled a bit, but groaned as soon as she tried to sit up. In the dark, Naruto could still see blood on her delicate head.

"Shit!" He said, and proceeded to rip his shirt to make a bandage. When Hinata wasn't so dizzy, she noticed Naruto's hands were in chains and so were his feet. How he had managed to care for her like that was beyond her. She touched the chains and shivered, (A/N: yes she still has no clothes on)

"I'm s-sorry I g-got you into t-this." Hinata mumbled

"Huh?" said Naruto confused

"You're b-being p-punished because of m-me r-right?" Hinata looked at the floor

Naruto smiled, even with the chains on, he managed to pull Hinata close to him. He felt her shiver and relax against the warmth of his body. He looked at her face and leaned in and kissed her. Hinata felt his warm lips meet her cold ones. 'How is he always so warm?' She wondered. His kiss was gentle almost as if he was asking her permission. She kissed him back, telling him that she granted him that permission. She swore she could feel Naruto smile, though his lips never left hers, and his tongue began to explore her delicate mouth. Their tongues intertwined for a moment, then they released, their lungs begging for oxygen. Hinata shivered again, and Naruto frowned.

Naruto tilted his head toward the ceiling. "We can't stay here." He said plainly. He wasn't so much talking to Hinata as stating the facts of their situation. "He'll be back in the morning. Mostly, cause he'll realize that he left us here together, but also because I doubt he wants to make love to you in a prison chamber." Naruto kneeled up, and studied the walls, they were just plain cement, this was good, his chakra could travel through this.

"Hinata, you are a trained ninja, yes?"

Hinata nodded. Naruto smiled, this was good.

"Good. I'm going to meditate; hopefully, we'll be out of here soon. Try to get some sleep in the mean time."

Naruto closed his eyes and sat against the wall. Hinata only wondered what he was doing. Then it occurred to her that he might be a ninja too. What if they were enemies? That would ruin everything. With these thoughts swirling through her head, she fell asleep. She dreamed that she was on top of a hill sitting with Naruto. The breeze was blowing through their hair and they leaned back against a rock, warming themselves in the sun. Then, form behind the rock, she swore she heard a tapping noise. And the earth began to shake. She awoke to find Naruto shaking her, and noticed the tapping was coming from the walls. As soon as he saw she was awake, he went and tapped on the wall as well. Then, out of nowhere, there was swirl of sand in the small room, and a boy appeared before them.

The boy had red hair, and seemed to be the same age as Hinata and Naruto. Around his eyes were thick black lines. On his back was a large object that appeared to be a gourd, the sand whirled around him, and then slithered into the gourd.

"Naruto." the boy said.

Naruto smiled. The other boy did not. He looked to Hinata with pale jade eyes. "Who is this?" he said.

"A friend of mine." Naruto replied. Gaara scowled. "She's a ninja." Naruto added.

"Fine, she can come, but she's your problem, not mine."

Naruto nodded. The sand came again form the gourd and made its way into the locks on Naruto's chains. The locks sprung open, and Naruto sprang up. He had a serious look on his face as he beckoned Hinata to come close to him. Then he walked over to Gaara, and the sand around the two began to swirl once more, Gaara smirked when Hinata squealed, and took a moment to examine her clothes (or lack there of)

"Dont even think about it," said Naruto to Gaara after noticing where his eyes had wondered.

Then the sand stopped swirling, and Hinata noticed they were outside the mansion, about a foot into the woods that surrounded it. Naruto motioned for Hinata to follow him, and the three proceeded to jump through the trees. To where? Hinata had no idea.

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END OF CHAPTER THREE

**A/N: Wow! That was kinda a long chapter...hmm maybe not...oh well! I hope you all enjoyed it so far, though I know Im going to get flames form the fan-girls for making Sasuke so evil. I kinda got a little carried away with the perverted-ness. Oops! That's what the ratings are for people! Reviews would be loverly (that's most definitely a word)**


	4. To Fear the Truth

**sclaimer: wait for it...wait for it...nope! I still don't own Naruto**

**onto the chapter!

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**CHAPTER FOUR

They continued flying through the trees in the darkness. If Hinata didn't have her ninja training, she probably wouldn't have been able to survive. She was freezing cold and she had no shoes, so she was stepping on the bark with her bare feet. She shivered.

Naruto, seeing this paused for a moment, Hinata followed suit and landed next to him.

"Here." he said, removing his shirt, and giving it to Hinata. "I think you need it more than I do." Taking the shirt from him, his hands and her touched. He was right. Despite the chill of the night, his body was warm. He must have been used to these conditions.

"Hey! If you two are quite done, we should get moving!" came a voice from far off in the distance. Gaara's silhouette could be seen in the distance against the trees.

"Fine, fine." Naruto sighed. Hinata giggled. Naruto smiles a huge goofy smile. She was happy with him.

They began moving again. Hinata was surprised how mach warmer she was with the shirt. Regardless, she was just happy to have clothes. (A/N: I think this topic needs to stop now. Hinata: please!)

The two semi clothes ninjas (Naruto: okay...seriously, end this or im going to Rasengan on your ass! Me: fine! seesh!)

The three ninjas continued on through the woods for what seemed like hours. Hinata was so incredibly tired; she swore she was going to collapse. And you know what? She did.

"Oy! Naruto baka! Your girlfriend is asleep."

Naruto glances back to see Hinata sleeping on a branch and smiles. He picks her up 'bridal-style' and carries her. Hinata awoke two hours later to see the sun rising and the shadows gently forming on Naruto's face.

"We're almost there." he whispered. Hinata buried her face in his chest.

At this Naruto smiled.

"Get a room," said a sarcastic Gaara who was no beside them. Naruto stuck his tongue out at Gaara.

"You're just mad cause I beat you the lat time we spared." Gaara just sort of grunted.

'Spared?' thought Hinata, 'so he does practice fighting.'

Before she could think anything else, the three arrived at a clearing, as far as Hinata could tell there was nothing there. The two just stood there.

"By the way," said Gaara, turning to Naruto, "Enzera is about ready to kill you."

"Wait, what! Why didn't you mention this before?" said suddenly hysterical Naruto. "No! Im so dead!" cries anime tears

Gaara smirked. "That's what you get for making me come get you baka."

Naruto looked at him. "If I don't die, you will."

Ignoring him, Gaara made a hand sign, and said, "Dispel." Suddenly, in the clearing, about a foot away from them was house. Not a big house, but it was one house more than Hinata had seen in the clearing. So she gasped. Naruto smiled, and the trio walked into the house. It was eerily quiet. For about 5 seconds. Then, not so much.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE!"

Naruto sighed. Gaara smirked, "You may want to run."

"Yeah, like that'll make a difference."

Naruto put Hinata down and Naruto walked up the stairs. He disappeared behind a door, and then there were series of thuds and then when they stopped, Gaara walked up the stairs. Hinata followed. They stopped in front of the door that Naruto had gone into, and Gaara knocked.

"Come in." said a voice.

The two walked in to see a girl, in her early twenties, sitting on top of Naruto.

"Look! I'm sorry I'm late! Could you please get off me now!"

"Nope" said the girl.

Naruto groaned. "Pleeeease!" he said.

The girl sighed. "Fine, but only cause I want you to explain why there is girl standing in the doorway with Gaara." Suddenly Naruto noticed Gaara and Hinata arrived. He blushed in embarrassment of being sat on. He got up and brushed himself off.

"Thanks, Gaara, but I think I can take it from here."

"Hn."

"I'm waiting Naruto," said the girl. Hinata studied her. She had short brown hair, which was pulled up. Her eyes were a silverish gray. She wore black jeans and a blue tank top. Something about her, told Hinata, that she was not a force to be reckoned with. Maybe it was her eyes, Hinata felt like her eyes were boring holes into her skull and picking apart at her thoughts.

"Well you see...I kinda got thrown into the Uchiha dungeon because Hinata here fainted..."

"Hinata?"

"Yes. That's her name. Anyway, Sasuke came and threw her in, and I knew we had to get out so...that's the basic story."

"So why did you bring her?"

"She's a ninja."

"I exactly who she is Naruto. Why did you bring her?"

"She can, er, help us."

"I see." said the woman, narrowing her eyes. She first looked at Naruto then to Hinata. She sighed. "Very well, Naruto. She can stay for now. I'll get her some clothes. You should change into your clothes too. Those uniforms disgust me. You," she said looking at Hinata, "stay here."

Hinata nodded. The woman returned momentarily with clothes for Hinata. It was black skirt with a gray sweatshirt and a lavender shirt to go underneath. Hinata quickly dressed herself as the woman studied her. Naruto returned, in what were apparently his regular clothes. They suited him. It consisted of orange pants, and a black t-shirt (basically his normal outfit, he's just not wearing his jacket). He stepped in to room, one hand in his pocket, the other rubbing the back of his head.

"So, Enzera-sensei...?"

"What is it Naruto?"

"Can Hinata stay?"

"Hmm..."

"Just because she's not..."

"It's not that Naruto," the woman said, cutting him off.

"Well then what?"

She tuned to Hinata. "Hinata right? As in Hyuga Hinata, heiress to the Hyuga main house?"

Naruto's eyes widened as Hinata nodded. He turned to the woman, "You mean...?"

The woman continued ignoring Naruto. "Why were you at the Uchiha mansion."

"A-as p-punishment."

"For what?"

"M-messing u-up o-on m-missions."

"I see. Do you recognize Naruto from anywhere? Anywhere at all?"

"N-no. I-I just m-met h-him."

The woman seemed satisfied. "She's telling the truth Naruto."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "So...that means?"

The woman smiled, "Yes Naruto. She can stay, but not in your room."

"Aww," Naruto groaned sarcastically "Darn what a shame."

Hinata giggled.

"Woohoo! I'm funny. See Enzera-sensei? Someone thinks I'm funny."

She just shook her head and walked out of the room.

* * *

The four gathered for dinner. Hinata could tell that Naruto was itching to talk, but was restraining himself.

"Why so quiet tonight Naruto." Enzera asked.

"Er, well, it's just..."

"You want to ask Hinata questions that do not concern Gaara and myself?"

"Um...yeh."

The woman smiled. "Well, I'm done anyway. Gaara?"

Gaara got up and walked out of the kitchen followed by Enzera.

Naruto looked at Hinata. She hadn't touched her food. "Are you okay Hinata? Is something wrong?"

"It's just, when you found out my name...are we enemies Naruto?"

"You could never be my enemy Hinata. It's just, the Hyuga clan is from Kohona. When I was younger, I lived in Kohona. I was an orphan, and people didn't like me. The villagers basically hated me. I was just afraid, that you would hate me too."

Hinata leaned over and kissed him gently. "I could never hate you Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled and kissed her back. They continued until Gaara entered the doorway.

"Naruto. Meeting. Now."

"Okay, um, I gotta go Hinata. Eat something okay?"

Hinata smiled and finished her meal as Gaara and Naruto disappeared up the stairs.

When she was done, she headed upstairs toward her room. She heard voices coming from the room she had been in earlier. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but...

Enzera spoke first: "Okay, Naruto. What did you find out?"

Naruto sighed. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find out anything that we didn't already guess, but I was able to confirm some things. Uchiha Itachi is definitely a member of Akatsuki, and they are definitely after the demons. I don't believe his brother Sasuke is a member, but they always used to leave together during the day."

"Sasuke leaving everyday with Itachi is suspicious, but Sasuke is not a member of Akasuki," Enzera replied. "I know Itachi, he considers his brother too weak for something like this."

"I could not find out what it is Akasuki is planning, but it something to do with using the power of the demons. In other words, if we are captured the demons will be most likely be removed and we would all die."

Enzera sighed. "Okay, well you obviously cannot return to the Uchia mansion, but confirming all that was good. Are you sure you found nothing else."

"If I may interrupt," Gaara interjected, "isn't more important we discuss what to do with that girl?"

"What?" Naruto snapped, clearly displeased with Gaara's tone.

"Gaara's right Naruto," Enzera stated calmly. "She can't stay here unless he joins us."

"So she'll join us then," Naruto supplied.

"It is true that the powers of the Hyuga clan are advanced. They are excellent for close combat and practically unstoppable when used to their full potential, however, this is not a decision to be taken lightly. it is also one that you cannot make for her Naruto. We live dangerous lives," Enzera reflected.

"In case you forgot, he have and organization of power hungry psychos after us," Gaara added.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked. "Lie to her?"

"For the time being, yes," Enzera resolved. "We'll see what she can do. If she is willing to be trained and work with us, she can stay, but unfortunately, we cannot tell her everything at once."

The room was silent for a moment, before Naruto spoke: "What if she chooses not to remain here?"

"Then we will send her back to Kohona, too her clan."

Hinata, who was now outside the door, gasped. Returning to her clan would be suicide, Hiashi would beat her into a pulp. Unfortunately, her gasp did not go unnoticed, and the three in the room stopped talking. Hinata felt something wrap tightly around her body. Sand. The door opened and there stood Gaara, controlling the sand. Behind him stood Enzera and Naruto. Enzera was frowning at Hinata and Naruto was looking at the floor. Hinata was carried into the room by the sand and placed on a couch.

Enzera looked at Naruto sternly, "Naruto. Tell her everything. Then let her decide."

Naruto nodded as Enzera and Gaara left the room. He then turned to look at Hinata.

"I am going to tell you about us, Hinata. Then, I need you to decide whether or not you want to fight with us.

"As I told you before, I grew up in Kohona. I was born there. People there hated me. I never knew until I was six years old. When I was six, Enzera found me in the woods outside Kohona, badly beaten and near death. She cared for me in the woods until I awoke. I spoke with her for a while and then she examined me. What she found on my stomach was a demon seal. Gaara, Enzera, and myself are Jinchūriki.

"Have you heard of the Kyuubi no Yōko, Hinata? The great demon that nearly destroyed Kohona 18 years ago? The day I was born, the nine tailed fox was sealed inside of me. Why, I do not know, but the villagers hated me for being something that I could not help. I left Kohona with Enzera, and never returned. She taught me how to fight and how to be a ninja. She showed me how to do things that only I could do and how to use the chakra of the fox. I never returned to Kohona because it was never really my home.

"Enzera found Gaara when I was about twelve. He was apparently running away form Suna, because he had just killed some people with his sand. When she learned that he was the Jinchūriki for Ichibi no Shukaku, she brought him to live with us. His demon is some kind of giant raccoon and because of it he can't sleep, or the demon will come out. I think Enzera would have taken him in even if he wasn't a Jinchūriki, she's just kind like that. Gaara's better now, I think. He's like my brother, ya know?"

Naruto wasn't really talking to Hinata at this point. He was more reflecting on his life.

"Enzera's demon is like a giant killer dog thing. I think the name is Gobi. She tried to draw me a picture once, but it looked more like a cat.

Hinata looked hoping to see amusement in Naruto's eyes from his joke, but all she saw was pain. She couldn't imagine what life was like for him. As a child, she had always had a place to stay, food to eat, and for the most part felt safe.

"Recently, we've learned of a organization called Akatsuki that wants to control the power of the demons. If the demons are removed from us, we die. Uchiha Itachi was a member of this organization. He's as powerful a ninja as Enzera, which, by the way, is nerve wracking. You should know, that if you choose to fight with us, you'd be in constant danger, but if you do, we could train you to reach your full potential."

Naruto looked down on Hinata's face and saw what he thought was confusion. He smiled at her, "I know this is a lot to take in. Is there something that you want to ask?"

"C-can the demon...can the fox get out?"

Naruto frowned, it wasn't confusion, it was fear. She, like everyone else was afraid of him. Why did he think she was different? She would first fear him, and then grow to hate him, no matter how much she had loved him before. Naruto got up and was about to leave.

"Naruto," came Hinata's small voice, "if I say no, would I be sent back to Kohona?"

"That is no longer an option." He then walked out of the room and closed the door. He went down to the kitchen where he knew the others would be waiting for his answer.

He walked in and sat down. Enzera placed a bowl in front of him. Naruto just stared at it. Enzera and Gaara stared at Naruto.

"You okay Naruto? I've never seen you turn down ramen before."

Naruto shrugged. Enzera gave Gaara a look.

"I'll go put the girl in her room then." he said and left, leaving Enzera and Naruto alone in the kitchen.

There was a long silence before Naruto spoke.

"She didn't give me an answer. She was a afraid of me."

Enzera nodded. She understood his pain, having faced it all of her life from everyone she tried to get close to. She so wanted to hug Naruto but she knew that would make things worse. She saw tears begin to well up in Naruto's eyes.

"Shit!" he said when he felt them. He wiped them away from his face. "Enzera, I'm going for a walk."

Enzera nodded. She watched as he walked out of the kitchen and heard the front door open and close as Naruto stepped out into the world that seemed to hate him. She sighed. He was so close to releasing the pain, so close to letting go. He would never forget the things that happened to him as an innocent child, he knew that. He had forgiven the people who hurt him, what he needed to do was forgive himself. He was feeling things that he hadn't felt for twelve years, and the emotions still had their old sting. All this pain from the eyes of a girl.

Byakugan! The thought of Hinata's eyes reminded Enzera that Hinata was from the Hyuga clan, and despite her being punished, the clan would want their heiress back. Itachi was smart. If he figured out what happened, he could use the most prestigious clan in Kohona to bring him to what may be the three most powerful demons in the world. if there was anyone she didn't need to see again, it was Uchiha Itachi.

"Shit!"

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

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**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Gasp! That was exciting...okay so I have a feeling there will be some NaruHina fluff in the next chapter because I promised you all a NaruHina fic...other than that, I have bit of writers block...so suggestions? reviews would also be loverly!...seriously...REVEIW-REVEIW-REVEIW**


	5. Naruto vs Kyuubi

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of creative ways to say that I do not own Naruto nor it's characters. The OCs however, are pretty much mine, seeing as they're _obviously _not yours!**

**Enough Baka-ness! On with the chapter!

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CHAPTER FIVE:

Naruto walked through the forest with a heavy heart, and Enzera watched him from the trees. She knew, that he knew, that she was there. She had trained him to be a deadly ninja. Deadly ninjas know when they're being followed. He didn't acknowledge her in any way, though, he was too engrossed in his own thoughts. She saw that he had weapons if he needed them, and then realized she had left that girl alone with Gaara. In a swirl of smoke, she vanished, leaving Naruto to some one-on-one time with the nine tails. (A/N: haha, don't you so want to be Naruto right now...)

"You put yourself in this situation you know, baka. You let her get close to you. Haven't you learned by now that you can't trust people?" Kyuubi whispered.

"And what was I supposed to do?" Naruto replied. "Leave her there? Even if I didn't care about her, leaving her with them, would be just plain sick."

"I don't see you rushing back to help the other slaves."

Naruto didn't respond.

Kyuubi chuckled. "That's what I thought...we should go teach her a lesson." The fox grinned evilly.

"Oh no! I am not doing that."

"Please, I'm in your head fool! I know that you want to."

"She's a ninja," Naruto supplied. "She'll fight back."

Kyuubi laughed. "If she's a ninja, she's a pathetic one. Think about it kit. Rubbing your tongue over her bare flesh, watching her struggle against you, as you..."

"Okay!" Naruto interrupted . "I think that's enough of that."

Naruto was now sweating.

Kyuubi continued with his evil grinning. "You really are too easy to manipulate you know. Pathetic."

"Yeah?" Naruto shouted to the woods. "Well if I'm so pathetic, how come you're trapped inside me!"

Kyuubi was silent for a moment and the became smug. "I'm not the one shouting at no one in the middle of the woods because I'm too afraid to rape some stupid girl."

Naruto muttered to himself.

"Think about it kit."

Naruto approached the house feeling very pissed at the fox. How dare he suggest something like that. Naruto continues muttering when he entered the house. Gaara was standing in the middle of the room, staring at Naruto.

"That stupid girl has been calling for you for the past half hour." said Gaara

"Yeah, whatever," muttered Naruto, "I'm too tired to deal with her right now."

Naruto started up the stairs, until he felt something wrap around his ankle and pull him down. He was now lying backward on the stairs with his head on the floor looking up at Gaara.

"Shut her up," Gaara's eyes narrowed, "or I will."

"Fine," said Naruto. As much as he didn't want to deal with Hinata right now, he didn't want to deal with a dead Hinata even more. He walked up the stairs and paused in front of her room. He knocked on the door, and heard a small voice beckon him in. He walked in to see Hinata sitting on the bed, staring out the window at the moon. She looked over to see Naruto, then quickly turned her head away in shame.

"Do you need anything?" Naruto said in a very monotone voice.

Hinata's head, which was now buried in her knees as she held them close her, shook to say no. Naruto was about to leave when he saw something that caught his eye. A single crystal drop fell onto the floor and glistened in the moonlight. She looked at back at Hinata's small body, which was quivering.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to react. He then walked over and put his hand on her shoulder gently. She was startled by the presence of his hand, and nearly jumped off the bed. Naruto, frowned, and removed his hand. He looked her in the eyes, his blue meeting her white, and asked her sincerely if she was okay.

Hinata bit her lip, her eyes darted down, as she composed her thoughts. She looked back into his eyes.

"I-I'm worried...for you. I don't want you to get hurt because of me." Naruto was shocked, and Hinata continued, slowly breaking down into more tears.

"Everywhere I go I cause trouble. My family, my friends, and you. The only reason, I'm here is because I got you into trouble in the first place."

_"You're b-being p-punished because of m-me r-right?"_

Naruto lifted her chin and wiped the tears of her face with his thumb.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you hate me?"

This more than anything shocked Naruto. She was afraid that _he_ hated _her_! She should be the one who hated _him_! He was a monster, a demon that almost wrecked her home for crying our loud! He had practically kidnapped her and now she was not allowed to go home because of him, and she was afraid that _he_ hated _her_?

He leaned over and kissed her, and she didn't resist him. The fox, was smiling evilly in Naruto's head, but we waved the vision away, and continued kissing Hinata, which was now giving his tongue a workout. He pulled away slowly, still biting her upper lip, and then releasing it. Still holding her chin in his hand, and looked into her eyes and said,

"I could never hate you Hinata."

Hinata smiled silently, as she felt the energy leaving her body, it was close to two in the morning and she could barely keep her eyes open. Naruto kissed her once more on the head, and then gently tucked her in.

He turned and began to walk toward the door, which he now realized he had left open. The reason he noticed, had a gourd on his back. Naruto looked at him.

"How long have you been standing there, Gaara?"

Gaara shrugged. "It's not like you did anything worth watching."

"Pervert." Naruto muttered at Gaara as he walked past him.

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END OF CHAPTER FIVE

**A/N: Wow! This chapter was kinda short. O well...p.s. Gaara is not a pervert, he didn't say how long he was standing there anyway...even though I made him seem like a perv he is not! ok? cries anime tears**


	6. You Give Me Strength

**Okay...so I have no idea what this chapter is going to be about cause I'm in career class and have nothing better to do, seriously... I don't...so...this chapter shall probably suck...a lot...seriously...anyway... read at you own risk:**

**Urgg... writer's block!**

**Disclaimer: Nope...I still don't own Naruto-alas what a shame!

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CHAPTER SIX

Hinata had a dream that night. She was walking through the desert in the night behind Sasuke, who was having her carry a large case. At one point he just stopped, she stopped too. He looked at her and said,

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Yes," said Hinata (or dream Hinata)

"Why?"

"Because...you tried to..."

"Rape you?"

Hinata nodded.

Dream Sasuke chuckled. "You do realize the fox-boy is after the same thing as I am. At least with me you got live comfortably, not in some shack in the middle of the woods. They obviously want something from you. You are too weak to be considered one of them"

Hinata dropped her heat toward her feet. Maybe Sasuke was right, Enzera had mentioned her potential and so had Naruto. Maybe that was what they were really after. They didn't really care about her, why should they. She felt her knees begin to shake as the weight of the case seemed to grow.

Then our of no where, she saw the image of a fox with nine fiery tails appear behind the Uchiha. Sasuke didn't seem to notice. The tails grew and the fire they were emitting seeped across the sand of the desert, and rested beneath her feat. For some strange reason, she wasn't afraid of the fox or it's strange fire.

She felt the fire fill her. Flowing through her veins, being pumped through her body by her heart. Fire filled her white eyes, making them sparkle in the night like two lost stars that are about to collapse. The fire of her eyes, however, remained constant and flickering, until the desert itself was filled with light.

"No." she looked at Sasuke. "I am not weak."

Sasuke merely looked at her, as if he hadn't heard her at all. He turned his back and began to walk away.

Some emotion, some force, that she didn't recognize, seized her now, a kunai was suddenly, clenched within her fist.

Outside, of Hinata's mind in the real world, Enzera stood with her hands pressed against Hinata's head. A strange blue chakra was surrounding her hands, and gently lapping at Hinata's temples. Naruto and Gaara stood behind her. Enzera stood up and looked at them.

"She has taken control of her dream. I no longer know what will happen, this could very well turn into a nightmare."

"What is the point of this again?" Naruto asked concerned

"Before we train her, she needs to know her own strengths and weaknesses. She needs to understand where her power comes from and where her fears lie. All I did was unlock something she fears and guide her to unlock other subconscious ideas."

"English please?" Naruto was definitely confused

Gaara grunted, "Do you pay attention to anything? Ever?"

Naruto glared at him.

Enzera ignored both of them. "Hinata has to conquer her fears on her own, by subconsciously figuring out a way to do so." She took a look at Naruto's face and sighed. "I'll explain more when she wakes up."

Back in Hinata's dream:

"No." she looked at Sasuke. "I am not weak."

Sasuke merely looked at her, as if he hadn't heard her at all. He turned his back and began to walk away.

Some emotion, some force, that she didn't recognize, seized her now, a kunai was suddenly, clenched within her fist.

She took one last look at the fox, which to her surprise, was smiling knowingly. She lunged at Sauske, who retaliated, just as she imagined Sasuke would. He was stronger than her. How could she have been so stupid as to challenge him? In a few seconds he was sitting on top of her, but she was struggling like to hell to break free.

"Tsk, tsk. Why must you disobey your master, hm?" Sasuke looked down on her with cold, empty eyes.

Outside, Hinata shivered, and Naruto, put his hand on her shoulder, and then removed it seeing Gaara's smirk.

In the dream, that single gesture was all Hinata needed. She saw the fox in the distance once more. This time, it didn't offer any strength. She gave it a pleading look, as if to ask for help, but it shook it's head.

'Fine,' dream Hinata thought, 'it doesn't want to help me. I'll prove to that fox that I don't need it's help!'

Hinata, clenched her kunai (which dream Sauske had been too stupid to take form her apparently) and sprang up, Sauske was on his feet too (somehow).

She lunged at him again. This time, she moved with accuracy and precision. She used her bloodline limit will skill that she had never felt before. She saw his movements clearly, and she reached a state in which she hardly had to move at all. She could see his movements before he could, and she reacted accordingly.

Guess who was sitting on top of whom. (Go Hinata!)

"Whose weak now?" she asked him, which was really out of character for herself. She giggled. She didn't know why she, just did.

Outside, (a moment ago). "You can wake her up now, Naruto." Enzera said. Naruto began to tickle Hinata and she giggled. Naruto continued to tickle her until she opened her eyes revealing those beautiful white orbs that saw the world and yet saw nothing of the world.

"Good morning sleepy head!" said Naruto cheerfully.

"Um...Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you all in here?"

"To congratulate you on passing the test!"

"Huh?"

"Well...you see..."

"Naruto's not the one to explain." Gaara interrupted.

Naruto sighed, "Sadly, Gaara has a point for once in his life."

Gaara smacked Naruto over the head. Naruto punched Gaara in the arm. Enzera whacked the both of them from behind, causing them to rub the backs of their heads. Sigh. Guys.

"C'mon Hinata, I'll explain over breakfast." said Enzera.

Hinata nodded and followed her downstairs, while Gaara and Naruto resumed their smack fest.

At breakfast:

"I have a bloodline limit that has to do with powers of the mind. If I have enough chakra, I can view or even manipulate dreams. If it weren't for the extra demon chakra, the process could have knocked me unconscious," Enzera said.

Hinata gasped.

Enzera chuckled "Don't worry, I'm fine. In the time when you were asleep, I unlocked the parts of your subconscious that hold you fears and the part that holds the knowledge of strength."

Hinata looked confused

"Every person's strength comes from somewhere. Obviously, if you train correctly, you will become stronger, but there is also something within each of us, that drives us. I did not control you dream, I only helped to start it. Any image you saw was completely of your own creation, your mind having been exposed to some of the deeper parts of you psyche."

Seeing Hinata's face, Enzera chuckled again.

"I know this is a bit confusing," Enzera said, "but I want you to think about your dream. If you do, you will understand your fears and the force that drives you. Without them, training will not be easy. Without something to fight for, training you will be a waste of time. The dream was meant to help you, and in it, you conquered maybe one or two of your fears."

"How do you know I conquered them?" Hinata asked.

"You didn't pass out."

Hinata winced. These guys did not mess around with training. They weren't going to give her any breaks.

A loud thud was heard out of nowhere. Followed by a loud "DAMN!" from what could only be Naruto. Enzera sighed.

"I gotta go. Gaara just banged Naruto into a wall with the sand because Naruto probably said something stupid." She sighed. "They better not kill each other." She walked out of the room, while Hinata reflected on her dream.

The weird thing was, she could remember the dream so clearly. But when she remembered it, she saw it through the eyes of 'dream Hinata.' Fighting Sasuke, seeing the giant fox, feeling the sand beneath her feet and rush in her blood... Could she have really been the one in control? I didn't feel like her, and yet it did. It was like she had unleashed this whole other side of herself that she never knew was there.

Enzera returned with Naruto and Gaara in tow. Literally. The two were now tied together, back to back, and she was dragging them down the stairs. The entire time, Naruto was muttering and Gaara was scowling. Enzera on the other hand was whistling and smiling like some holiday had come early.

Enzera left them at the bottom of the stairs, entered the kitchen, and sat down facing Hinata. A few moments later, the other two came in. Naruto had a large bruise on his face and a cut on his arm. Gaara wasn't even sweating.

Hinata looked at Enzera and said, "There are some things in my dream I don't understand."

Enzera nodded, and Hinata proceeded to explain the whole thing. Hinata noticed Naruto was blushing.

Hinata then said, "My fear was being weak, right?"

"Actually," Enzera began, "your dream revealed at least three fears. One was of being weak. There was also the fear of fighting alone or being alone. You also have an obvious fear of Uchiha Sasuke. You may even have a slight fear of the nine tailed fox."

"That's four." Gaara said

"No shit, baka." Naruto retaliated, even though technically, Gaara wasn't talking to him.

"Must you swear every time you open your mouth?"

"Hell yeah!"

Gaara and Enzera both rolled their eyes.

"Anyway," said Enzera, "you conquered all of these. You stood up to Sasuke, fused yourself with the power of the fox, also fought without its power..."

"And you kicked Sauske's ass!" shouted Naruto, "You rock Hinata!"

Hinata blushed and smiled a bit, "It was only a dream, Naruto."

"As for the source of your strength it comes from a desire to prove yourself and to be looked upon as a strong and worth fighter," Enzera said.

Hinata nodded.

"It also would appear, that some of your strength comes from Naruto. The strength of having someone believe in you. The strength of love perhaps?" Enzera smiled knowingly as both Naruto and Hinata blushed.

"Gag me," Gaara muttered.

Naruto punched Gaara. Gaara punched Naruto back.

Enzera knocked both their heads together. "Lets not start that again."

Enzera motioned for Gaara to follow her, and the two left the room. Naruto sat down next to Hinata and began to inhale his breakfast. Hinata yawned, and looked at Naruto. He wasn't even tired. He'd probably been up all night. He had only just rescued her a few hours ago, then they fought, then they made up, and then he was probably watching her while she had her dream. How was he inhaling food! He should have been passing out on the floor! The thought of sleep made Hinata yawn again.

"Are you okay Hinata?"

"I'm kind of tired, Naruto-kun." Hinata snuggled up against Naruto, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her. He breathed in the scent of her hair. She smelled like lavender. She felt his breath against her neck and goose bumps traveled down her arms. She made a soft noise that sounded like a tiny moan of pleasure, and finally feel asleep against Naruto.

Naruto held her steady and looked at the sleeping angel in his arms. She must have been an angel. With her soft voice and kind eyes. Yet, she had an inner strength worthy of the Hyuga heiress. Naruto looked at this divine creature in his arms and whispered,

"You give me strength, too."

END OF CHPATER SIX

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**A/N: AaWwWwW...doesn't that last scene just make you want to hug someone? Where's Gaara?**


	7. Fluff and Training

**My computer was being stupid and whatnot so I'm hoping that this works and doesn't get screwed up! Anyway this is not only a chapter of fluff, it's _the _chapter o' fluff:) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: How many times do I have to tell you people : I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! **

**On to the chapter!

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Hinata slept. Actually, that's a bit of an understatement. Hinata was borderline between being asleep and being in coma. Running away from a pervert, finding out the guy your in love with is a demon, and then having a chakra provoking dream created by a girl with a mind attacking blood line, will do that to you. What she couldn't figure out is how the others stayed awake. Naruto had mentioned something about Gaara not being able to sleep, but as far as she knew, the others hadn't slept last night either. Not to mention, it was a long night for all of them.

When Hinata finally awoke, it was nighttime. She had slept for approximately eleven hours. She knocked on Naruto's door, and surprisingly, it wasn't locked. She looked in; half expecting to see a drooling Naruto sprawled out in a tangle of sheets. Instead she saw him...meditating? Naruto didn't' seem like the kind of guy to meditate.

"You really need to stop this." a voice from behind her came.

Hinata spun around to see Enzera. Surprisingly the older woman was smiling. Smirking maybe? Who really knows? It was dark for crying out loud.

"This whole...spying on people at night thing. Either you need to develop better sleep habits or get a new hobby."

Hinata looked down. Enzera's smile faded into a look of concern.

"Hey, are you okay, Hinata? It wasn't meant to be an insult. You're not in trouble."

Hinata looked up into the women's eyes. She had never appreciated Enzera's eyes before.

They were a silvery-gray, which seemed to have bits of white and a pale blue thrown into the mix. They could be any emotion instantly, and yet hide emotion so well at the same time. They were kind yet strong. 'Kind of like Naruto-kun's eyes.' Hinata thought to herself.

Hinata's own eyes, changed form pondering to inquisitive as her thoughts strayed back to Naruto.

"Is there something you're wondering?"

"What...why...erm..."

"Why is Naruto meditating?"

Hinata nodded.

"How about, we step away from Naruto's room here, and I'll explain a few things."

In the office-type room with the couch, Enzera began explaining a few things about meditation.

Enzera: "Naruto, Gaara, and I all meditate. That's how we are able to stay awake for such long periods of time when we need to. Naruto and I also sleep, because, well, sleep is sometimes better or just more pleasurable. For us, meditation helps to control our...err…inner demons. In general, meditation sharpens the mind and if done correctly, a single hour of meditation is equivalent to the energy gained from a full night of sleep. I'm guessing you are now wondering if you'll learn how? I am going to try to teach you, since we have nothing better to do at the moment, but please be warned it can take people years to learn how to meditate properly. It took Naruto nearly a month, but he has no patentience. Seriously. None."

Enzera explained the process and Hinata set out to focus on nothing?

'Focus on nothing? How is that possible, seriously...'

WHACK! Enzera had whacked her in the head (A/N: Sorry Hinata, it was for your own good)

"Focusing on nothing does not mean thinking about focusing on nothing."

'How could she have known that?' Hinata opened her eyes to see that Enzera's were completely blue. 'Oh. Right'

Hinata took a deep breath, and truly tried this time. She remembered her father telling her something about meditation and Neji too. The said to focus on everything until you were focusing on so much, that you were actually focusing on nothing. It was worth a shot. Surprisingly, Enzera didn't whack Hinata this time.

"Good job Hinata." (Just to explain...Hinata is hearing this in her head)

"Whoa! You're in my head.

"I never left your head.

"Oh."

"Normally, a person is supposed to figure out the secret to meditation on their own. For every person it's different. I guess for you and your cousin it's similar, though. I always knew the Hyuga's were meditation masters. You picked it up in two tries. That's practically impossible you know."

Hinata blushed. "Oh. I guess I'm not meditating anymore huh?"

"Nope. But that's not your fault. Anyway, now that you can do this, I suggest you continue for the rest of the night. You'll need the energy for training tomorrow."

Hinata drifted back into the meditative state, and Enzera walked away feeling rather impressed. 'Two tries,' she thought to herself, 'it took me about two days. This girl really does have some amazing potential.'

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In the morning:

Hinata released herself from the meditation to see that it was now sunrise. She walked out into the hall and was quickly joined by Naruto, who informed her that the others were already at breakfast. Hinata was starving. She hadn't eaten in 24 hours. Naruto raced down the stairs at the smell of food, and Hinata quickly followed, but not as recklessly. Naruto had a lock on that particular aspect of movement in general.

Naruto wolfed down his breakfast, and Hinata ate fast herself. She was extremely nervous about training. Normally, she wouldn't be able to eat at all, but she was soooo hungry. Anyway, the food was obviously meant to prepare for training. It was a solider pill drawn out into a meal, only, better tasting.

Hinata followed them into the forest, they walked awhile before they came to another clearing. Enzera informed Hinata that she and Naruto would fight her to see what her abilities were. Mind you, Enzera told Hinata this while flinging several kunai in Hinata's direction. They would be using taijutsu and weapons only, but Hinata was allowed to use her bloodline limit. After about an hour they stopped. Much to Hinata's surprise she wasn't all that tired. Yay for meditation!

Enzera dismissed Naruto to spar with Gaara, and then gave Hinata a crash course in hard-core shinobi training. Enzera focused on Hinata's use of (Gentle fist), divine strike, divine whirl and Byakugon in general. It was grueling to say the least, and Hinata's confidence was getting low. Then at about sunset, Hinata mastered a more difficult move that Enzera was trying to show her. Hinata had successful shut of the chakra flow of Enzera's clone. (Think Neji during 3rd chunin exam preliminaries) The clone vanished, and Enzera smiled at her.

"That was impressive. If you master everything else in one day, then I might have to let you have some alone time with Naruto."

Hinata blushed a vibrant shade of red. Seriously, it could have been seen form space.

Just then Naruto walked in and saw Hinata. For some reason he started blushing too.

Gaara: "What's your problem?" looks at Hinata "Oh...wow"

Oh, by the way, Hinata's clothes are all torn up. It also looked like she had fallen in the river (which she had) and so her hair and a good portion of her body was wet. Let's just say it was good thing her shirt was dark color, or Naruto would have had...er...a moment of 'manly-ness' shall we say. Despite the fact that she was worn out, she looked pretty hot.

Naruto: "Hey paws off sand freak"

Gaara: "I would be nicer to me seeing as I just beat you back there" Shoves Naruto to ground

Naruto: "Ouch"

Hinata: giggle

Naruto looked up to see Enzera staring at them with an eyebrow cocked and Hinata giggling. Man, she was pretty when she giggled.

Naruto walked over and hugged her breathing in her scent.

"You smell good."

"Err...I smell like sweat."

"MMmmm..."

"You smell like sweat too you know." she whispered in his ear while sort of nibbling on it.

Gaara 'Ahemed' brining the two back to reality

In later days the three all worked to train Hinata. She learned not only the specialties of the Hyuga clan, but other techniques involving chakra control. Basically, she became a lean mean fighting machine, and she got a glimpse at some of the powers of the other three.

Gaara could control sand and his techniques were pretty deadly, they had a lot to do with crushing things. He also had an ultimate defense and he was a weapons master. He hit every target exactly no matter what Enzera was throwing at him (literally)

Enzera's bloodline she already thought she knew, but there was a lot more to it. With the right chakra control, the woman could basically invade a person's mind. If her opponent was weak enough she could knock them out just by making eye contact. She also performed some Justus with water (think of what Sasuke does with fire), had lightning fast speed, and could summon birds.

Naruto, as well, never ceased to amaze her. He was fast and strong. He could create thousands of replications and transform them. Basically, the replications were his specialty. He could also summon frogs. He could also perform a technique called Rasengan, which involved some swirling chakra ball thing that basically destroyed everything it came in contact with.

Hinata was amazed at them, but she had truly progressed herself, plus training with Naruto had given her confidence a huge boost.

At this moment in time, the four were sitting and laughing about something or other (actually Gaara was just sitting and smirking)...probably at something Naruto did...which we all know would have been both stupid and funny. Later, when they all went retire for the evening, Naruto gave Hinata a kiss goodnight. He was always doing little things like that that made her feel special. The day before, he had picked a whole bunch of flowers of her and made a crown out of them on his way home. Gaara taunted him mercilessly, but Hinata thought it was sweet.

She had been living with them for a month now, and they were like her family. She felt better with them then with her family, more like herself. She had already broken out of her shell of shyness and had improved faster then she had ever before. Mind you, Enzera was working her beyond human limits, but it worked. Hinata still wasn't as strong as the rest of her team, maybe not even strong enough to beat Sauske of even Neji, but she was improving and she was happy.

That night, Hinata lay in her bed, and was so tired she didn't bother to meditate. 'I'll just sleep for a bit,' she thought to her self, 'then I'll meditate for an hour or two and I'll be fine.' It felt good to sleep. Unfortunately, for Hinata she had a nightmare that night. Her teammates however, were living one.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN

**A/N: muwahahahaha-da evilness of the cliffhanger...I know this chapter was kinda pointless, but it had some NaruHina fluff thrown in so, all is good right? Right? Shifty-eyes**


	8. The Uchihas Strike Again!

**Ok...I apologize for the lack of updating but I went on vacation and I didn't bring the notebook that has this story in it...hehe...I brought the one with 'For Love' in it...whoops...sonce this was the one I needed to work on...sigh...o well...I hope you enjoy the chapter and o yes...REVIEW! or i will not be motivated to write the next chapter...**

**Disclaimer: After all we've been throguh together...one would think by now my readers would know that _I don't own Naruto..._alas...her I am again...**

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_Unfortunately, for Hinata she had a nightmare that night. Her teammates, however, we living one._

CHAPTER EIGHT

Hinata went up to her room and Naruto, Enzera, and Gaara remained in the kitchen. Naruto was babbling, Gaara was rolling his eyes, and Enzera was drinking tea. When Naruto said something and Enzera didn't smack him, the two knew something was wrong.

"Are you okay? You haven't said anything."

"It's nothing...I hope."

"How...err...reassuring..."

Enzera sighed, "It's just, we've had Hinata with us for a month, and we haven't heard anything from the Hyugas or the Uchihas. Nothing."

"So, maybe the Uchihas forgot about her and didn't tell her clan yet."

"Not likely, Itachi's planning something."

"What kind something?"

"What kind of something do you think Naruto?" Enzera snapped.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"An attack. One that is sure to make us squirm." muttered Gaara

Then, all three sensed something at the same moment. Enzera's eyes flashed blue, Naruto's ears twitched, and Gaara's sand flared. In through their front door stormed about ten people with white eyes. The three just stood looking at them.

"Can I help you?" asked Enzera sneering. Naruto growled at the intruders and Gaara just sort of scowled.

They didn't respond, they just sort of attacked, but it was kind of pathetic. The three beat them in about five minutes. This made things officially weird, if Itachi was behind the attack, then there was surely more to come. Then they felt something, or rather saw something, on the chest of one of their attackers was a suicide seal.

"Shit," said Enzera and they threw the body out the door, and slammed it. Outside they heard a small explosion. "That was a signal," said Enzera.

Gaara: "Shall we go out to meet them?"

Enzera: sigh "I suppose, it may be difficult though."

Naruto: "Yeah, but if we stay inside, then Hinata will be put in danger. No matter what, she is NOT here, got it?"

The other two nodded. Naruto was not the leader, but he was suddenly more serious than either had ever seen him before.

'_The strength of love,_' Enzera thought.

(A/N: I suck at fight scenes, don't kill me please!)

The three walked out not exactly sure what to expect. The demons were giving them advice, and pointing out figures in the trees. The all stood in a fighting stance. Into the clearing stepped the one person they were not prepared to see: Uchiha Itachi.

Enzera muttered, "Crap" under her breath, and Itachi smirked.

"You all take the brats, the girl is mine."

"That's the most I've EVER heard you say Itachi. I'm honored."

"You should be."

Then they basically lunged at each other.

Naruto and Gaara were having a hell of a time with the Hyuga clan. They were strong fighters. When Neji came out to fight Naruto, he couldn't bring himself to fight Hinata cousin, and all but surrendered.

"BAKA!" Gaara shouted at him, and killed a few more people with sand. Then, a few more came form the trees. 'Damn, these roaches just keep on coming. There're no way I'll be able to save Naruto at this rate. Where the hell is Enzera.'

Gaara heard a voice in his head.

"Gaara, run!"

"WHAT?"

The last thing he saw was Enzera being held with a kunai to her throat by Itachi. Then someone hit him over the head. The person was fast enough to get past the sand. They were playing the big leagues now.

Naruto was also unconscious. Enzera however, was not, and was struggling like hell against Itachi.

"Stop that." he said, and placed a seal on her forehead, paralyzing her body.

"Fuck you!" she screamed at him.

"Oh, you'd like to do that wouldn't you," he hissed. "Now be a good girl and stay here while I go find my brother's prize."

Enzera gripped a kunai in her mouth and attempted to throw it at Itachi's head. Itachi caught it, and said, "Retrain her." The Akaskui members tied her up in case the seal wore off and gagged her mouth, muffling her swears.

Itachi came out of the house with Hinata slung over his shoulder, unconscious.

"Three demons and a play thing, not a bad haul," he said with a smirk. If Enzera could have bitten him, she would have. Instead, she could only glare at him, hatred flowing from her eyes. Itachi was careful not look her in the eyes. He put Hinata down and blindfolded Enzera.

"You didn't think I forgot about your bloodline did you?" She felt something hit her head, and she fell unconscious.

Hinata awoke to find herself in all too familiar clothes. What she didn't recognize was the leather strap around her neck and the guard that was holding her by some sort of leash. Her wrists were bound with plain rope, but it was a complex knot that shoe couldn't undo without the guard seeing.

Then to make matters worse, Sasuke walked in. He nodded at the guard, who lifted Hinata onto a bed with blue covers and tied her leash to a space on the headboard. Then the guard left, leaving her alone with Sasuke.

"Hello my pet," Sasuke said. "Did you miss me?"

"Bastard!" Hinata shouted. "Let me go!"

"Hmm... It seems you have grown bolder since our last meeting. No matter. I can fix that."

Sasuke moved slowly toward the bed and stopped to stand over Hinata with a lustful smirk on his face. Hinata found herself retrained by the stupid leather collar and the leash. Yes, it was dog collar, and Hinata was more than ready to bite him.

Sasuke began to slowly remove Hinata's clothes. If her restraints got in the way he would just cut the cloth with a kunai. Hinata really hated this guy. He cit the straps of her bra and in slid off, causing Hinata to shiver.

"Don't worry, you won't be needing that anymore."

Sasuke then moved her hands to a position above her head and plunged her into a kiss. Sasuke's body was on top of her now. She wasn't going anywhere. Sasuke pulled out of the kiss and Hinata panted for air. Sasuke returned to the kiss this time his tongue decided to have a taste of Hinata. After exploring every crevice of her mouth, his tongue slid down her neck making her shudder. Then his mouth found something new to play with. Sauske bit and sucked on one of Hinata's breasts making her moan. His tongue was pulling on her peak and at one point he actually bit her, making Hinata wince. He repeated the process on the other, while using his hand to stroke the one he had already salivated on. Sasuke looked up to see Hinata's look of disgust.

Sasuke chuckled. "Admit it, part of you is enjoying this."

Hinata growled.

"Fine. Even if you don't enjoy this at all, I will. You live for my pleasure."

Hinata moaned at he began to stroke her breast while his other hand moved down her side and onto her stomach. He stroked it gently and lightly, making her gasp at certain parts. Whenever she did, Sasuke would get this sadistic smirk on his face, and stroke the spot again making her moan and gasp and struggle. Slowly his hands moved down her body until the reached her panties.

"Well, well, what do we have under here?" said Sasuke licking his lips.

"Please, no..."

Hinata was silenced by Sasuke's hand, which now covered her mouth. With his free hand he began to remove her panties.

END CHAPTER EIGHT

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**A/N: muwahahahaha! The evilness of the cliffhanger...(random readers assemble with torches and pitchforks)**

**Me: AHH! WAIT! If you kill me then there will be no chapter nine!**

**MOB: Write! Write! Write!**

**Me: (gasp) rhythmic chanting! That's not a good sign! I have writer's block I tell you! Writer's block!...NEED SUGESTIONS! Also I'm sorry for how short the chapter is...ahh the results of writer's block...**


	9. Escape and Rescue

**Finally! Chapter nine has arrived...the review response was great! People even gave me suggestions! wooo! and there were others who joined in with the pitchforks and torches...where they were getting said mob items I will never know...anyway...I'm glad to know people are so passionate about the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's long for once!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...if you haven't figured it out by now...then you're just stupid...there's no way around it...

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**

CHPATER NINE

RECAP:

"Well, well, what do we have under here?" said Sasuke licking his lips.

"Please, no..."

Hinata was silenced by Sasuke's hand, which now covered her mouth. With his free hand he began to remove her panties.

* * *

BACK WITH THE DEMON TRIO:

Naruto awoke to find himself blindfolded. His hands were chained behind his head in such a way that he couldn't make hand signs, while his legs were in metal cuffs that were nailed to the wall. He assumed he was hanging by the chains on his hands, as he couldn't feel the floor underneath his feet. He breathed slowly in and out collecting his thoughts. He heard what sounded like a rat scurry across the floor. Based on that simple sound he deduced that he was in some kind of holding cell. It was more of a stone box. The rat would probably die in there; the walls were solid. He pressed his back lightly against the wall and felt chakra running through it.

"Hey you damn fox. Wake up."

"Baka. I was having such a nice nap."

"Well, I doubt you'll nap well when Itachi rips your power from us...how do I get out of here?"

"I can't see through your stomach baka...I know about as much as you."

"You're the Lord of All Demons! Couldn't you come up with something better than that!"

"You could try a mind link with Enzera."

"The walls are laced with chakra. I can't establish a mind link through them."

"Why do I even bother? You really should start paying attention more in these fights. Enzera established one with you before you passed out."

"When as this?"

"When she called your name through a mind link. She probably did it to sand boy too. You were only partially conscious though, because you were too much of a wimp to fight your lover's cousin."

"Now is not the time for that. How do I use the link?"

"If I know your teacher, she'll have had that dog of hers hold the link. Since I was holding yours...we should be able to reconnect with her if she's not too far away."

"Are ya gonna tell me how!"

"I already did it."

"Are you serious? Then why did you make me play 20 questions with you?"

"Because if I have to suffer in your abdomen, which by the way smells like ramen, then it's only fair that I bug you once in a while."

"You, are the most annoying creature..."

"Naruto?"

"ENZERA!"

"Ow. I think you bruised by occipital lobe."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Any ideas on how to get out of here?"

"No. I was hoping you might have one."

"I can't reach Gaara. Odds are they are keeping him unconscious because of the sand. And I don't have a mind link with Hinata, so I have no idea what is happening to her."

"Knowing Sasuke, it's probably bad."

"Agreed. Still that leaves us in a very similar position."

"You mean chained to a wall with a chakra induced blindfold on?"

"Yeah, that pretty covers it. Still, we can't give up. I have an idea."

"OK..."

"First, scream as loud as you possible can."

"Is that safe?"

"Probably not, but it's necessary."

So Naruto yelled, and yelled, and screamed, and yelled some more.

"Ok...well despite the chakra walls, I think you're in the cell next to me. So, if each of our demon friends is willing to sacrifice a tail of chakra, we might be able to break down the wall in between us."

"I think it's worth a shot...Kyubi?"

"Fine I'll help."

"Okay, Enzera, Kyubi's willing to try it."

"So's Gobi. It's the wall to your left Naruto. Hit it with everything you can get out of a single tail."

"On three. THREE!"

About five minutes later, the wall between the two cells was gone. Now you have to understand, these rooms were small. Like, just big enough, for the two to hang there. So once the wall was gone, they were pretty much next to each other. Straining their necks and arms, there were able to touch hands; left to right.

"Okay, Naruto," Enzera whispered, "we need something big."

"How big."

"As big as you can get."

If Enzera didn't have a blindfold on, she would have seen Naruto make an evilish smirk.

"Touch your left hand to my right," Naruto said. Once she did, Naruto instructed her to help him make the hand signs. Naruto bit the inside of his cheek until there was blood in his mouth. He wriggled his neck, and spit the blood onto his hand.

"Ready?" he said.

"I just hope this works."

Naruto pressed his hand against the wall behind his head. Forcing the Kyubi's chakra into it. Naruto was determined to save Hinata. Nothing was going to stop him. Nothing.

There was a swirl of smoke, and Enzera and Naruto found themselves on Gamabunta's back.

"Naruto! What the hell is going on!"

"Well Enzera and I got captured by Itachi and now we have to save

Gaara and my girlfriend."

"You got a girlfriend? Is he lying?"

"Nope," said Enzera, "he really did get a girlfriend. And surprisingly she is in love with him too."

Naruto getting annoyed at the conversation, shouted, "Can you please just untie us Frog Boss?"

The giant frog pulled out his giant sword and cut through the chains like they were made of butter. Enzera leapt off the back of the frog king. And began running while shouting back, "I'm going to find

Gaara! Go save Hinata!"

"Okay, so we need to get to the Uchiha mansion as fats as possible. How fast twould that be."

The giant frog smirked. "You just hang on tight."

Gamabunta leaped over trees and what seemed like entire forests.

"You DO know where this is right?" Gamabunta asked.

"I have a...general idea."

"Ugh. Let me know when your genetics kick in."

"What's that supposed to mean! I am plenty like my dad!"

"You're certainly as loud as he was."

"Focus here! The house is coming up." Sure enough, the Uchiha mansion appeared on the horizon. Naruto knew the house well since he had done about a month of spying there. "Hey Frog Boss! Let me out here so I can sneak up on the house."

"Does this mean I can go?"

"No! I need you for a quick getaway!"

"Hmph. This is an abuse of my many skills."

"Shut up! Someone will hear us."

Naruto slid down the frog's back and ran toward the house. He had no weapons and by now they could be expecting him. He didn't care. He had one thought on his mind. Hinata. How she didn't judge him like everyone else. How she was kind and sweet. How even if she didn't love him, she didn't deserve any of this that was happening. How she had given him strength. How she had loved him. How he had loved her. How much Sasuke was going to pay...

As all these thoughts swam through his mind and adrenaline coursed through his veins. he realized what Sasuke was doing. Why it had occurred to him now, it didn't matter.

'_If Sasuke lays even one finger on her, IU swear I'll rip his ugly bastard face off_.'

Naruto approached the house. He was running faster than the wind itself. On his way, he managed to kick three guards in the head. Two of which probably lost enough IQ points to be considered mentally impaired. He scaled the wall pumping chakra into his feet until he reached a window that he recognized as one going into the hall outside of Sasuke's room. He could sense Hinata's chakra signature. She was close.

He used a teleportation jutsu to silently slip into the house on the other side of the window. He moved on the balls of his feet, charka coursing through his veins. Every second he remained in the house, he grew angrier and his drive to find Hinata grew stronger. He was the predator, and Sasuke had made himself the prey.

Naruto came outside the door, and heard sounds that made him want to vomit.

* * *

Sasuke began to remove her panties at an agonizingly slow pace. Hinata obviously wanting them to stay in place, attempted to close her legs together to keep them from going anywhere. Sasuke growled at the lack of cooperation he was receiving. Sasuke pulled off his belt (he still has his pants on...don't ask why he's wearing a belt), and smacked Hinata soundly on her thigh. Hinata whimpered at the pain of the leather making swift contact with her sensitive flesh. However, she didn't budge. Sasuke hit her a few more times as silent tears began to stream down Hinata's face. Despite her efforts she was weakening, a black and blue leg can only stay rigid for so long. Sasuke, seeing her control slip, grabbed her ankles and pulled her legs part slightly. Hinata could only lie there, begging him to stop.

Hinata could sense Naruto's chakra signature outside the door. But why wasn't he coming to save her?

Naruto stood outside with his fists clenched. He could feel himself loosing control.

'_No,_' he told himself, '_must wait. The Plan is to wait until Enzera contacts me when she has Gaara so we can make a clean getaway.'_

"NARUTO!" from inside the room Hinata shouted his name.

'_Sorry Enzera. If making a clean getaway means I have to wait any longer, then I can't do it._'

Naruto pulled open the door, literally ripping it off its hinges.

He saw Sasuke standing over Hinata (naked) completely shocked (yeah, he's kind of pathetic in this story). The raven-haired boy saw Naruto, glowing with strange red light. Eyes red, canines enlarged, and deep whisker marks on his cheeks.

"Get. Away. From. Her," he growled.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "Make me."

Naruto lunged at him knocking him off the bed, and through the wall. Yes, they broke through the wall and fell. The fall itself was about three stories, but just incase Sasuke was capable of surviving that, Naruto beat the crap out of him on the way down. Suddenly it occurred to Naruto that he would be screwed by the landing as well. Luckily a soft sort of slimy something broke his fall. He opened his eyes.

"Frog Boss!" The giant frog had indeed caught his summoner in his hand.

"You done."

"Almost." Naruto scales the wall, and picked up Hinata who was breathing gently. He slipped her panties back on her, but found her other clothes were torn. He unzipped his jacket and wrapped it around the poor girl. He flew out the window and put her in Gamabunta's hand.

"Please find Enzera. She'll know what to do."

"What do I look like? A bus service?"

"Please," Naruto said, "I just want her to be safe."

The frog saw the compassion in Naruto's eyes, though they were still filled with hatred and rage. The red eyes were near to tears, and the frog himself was touched by the boy's non-rambunctious nature.

"Alright. I'll take care of her. But what about you?"

"I am going to destroy this place. I am going to make sure these people don't harm anyone ever again." Naruto turned and walked slowly toward the mansion. As he did rage boiled through his blood once again. Everything Hinata had been put through was because of the Uchihas. They were going to pay for it. As all the things they had done raced through his mind, anyone watching would have seen the form of a giant fox-like creature with three fiery tails, walking into the house. Then they would have seen a huge explosion. One that shook the earth: awaking a certain Hyuga heiress.

Hinata's eyes shot open at the sound. She found her self on the back of...a giant frog!

"Ahhhhhh! What's going on?"

"Firstly, never do that again. You are dangerously close to my tympanum and I get enough noise form that blond brat. Secondly, Naruto asked me to take care of you, so that's what I'm doing."

"Naruto? Where is he?"

"See that big fire over there?"

"Yes."

"Somewhere in that general vicinity."

"W-Why? W-Why w-would he d-do that?" Hinata stammered through her tears. "WHY?"

"Naruto was never the kind of person who could walk away from wrong doing. If someone hurt someone he loved, he was never the kind of person to let him or her go. The Uchihas...didn't stand a chance."

Hinata just sat and cried. On a giant frogs back. She smiled a little. Naruto could even make sad moments a little funnier.

_'Naruto_'

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p.s. the Fourth is Naruto's father for those of you who haven't read the manga

**A/N: I am sorry that took so long. I don't have the story written in a notebook, thus I needed my computer to write it, and if you read my profile you would know that my computer has been stupid lately. Other than that…SO MANY REVIEWS! It was total inspiration to get the chapter written!**


	10. Guilty

**Halleluiah!!! I am not dead!!** **It took me several -cough- months -cough- to update...I'm so pathetic...  
**

**Gaara: Yes, yes, you are...**

**Me: -sniff-sniff- I'm pathetic...-sobs-**

**Naruto: Now, look what you've done Gaara!**

**Gaara: I say we blame Sasuke!**

**Sasuke: What? Why me?**

**Hinata: You are the villan of this story...**

**Sasuke: Hn.**

**Gaara: -sigh- I say we just get to the long awaited chapter shall we?**

** Disclaimer: Only cause I haven't said it in a while, am I going to remind you all that I do not own Naruto nor any of it's characters. I do however own Enzera, as she is a character of my creation.**

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CHAPTER TEN

Sasuke opened his eyes and felt and immediately sharp pain in his left arm; also known as the arm that he had tried to break his fall with when Naruto pushed him out a three story window. If his broken arm wasn't enough, his entire body was badly bruised, and now the blond previously mentioned was walking toward him. And you have NEVER seen an angry person until you've seen an angry glowing demon child.

"How dare you..."

Sasuke winced as he tried to back away from the advancing predator.

"How dare you TOUCH HER!"

With that Naruto lunged at the raven-haired boy and proceeded to scratch wildly at him. Naruto had lost all sense of strategy and was fighting like an animal. Sasuke was able to draw a kunai and stab the glowing blond. The raven's eyes widened as he saw the gash heal right before his eyes. The only proof remaining was the tear in the boy's shirt and the blond that was staining it.

"W-What are you?"

"What am I? What am I?" Naruto chuckled darkly. "Your village would call be a demon, a menace, a monster if you will. But, you--_you_, Sasuke Uchiha, are the true monster."

"Oh really?" Sasuke's Sharingan eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the so-called demon. He appeared to be keeping his composure, as if he knew something Naruto didn't. "That's not what the people of the village think."

"Do you think I care what the people of your pitiful village think?"

"You should."

"And why is that Uchiha?" said Naruto lifting the boy toward his face by the front of his shirt. "Why. Is. That?" he snarled.

"Because," the raven smirked, "Hinata is a Hyuuga, a.k.a. a member of the most prestigious clan of Kohona. They will do anything to keep their reputation. So what do you think they'll do to her when they find out she is responsible for this?" he said gesturing to the mountain of rubble that the Uchihas once called their home.

Naruto dropped Sasuke to the ground and took a few steps back. He narrowed his eyes at Sasuke and saw the calculating smirk adorning the raven's pale face. The power had shifted.

"What do you want?" the blond snarled.

"You."

"What?"

"No, not like _that_ you moron. Do you know how much credit I'd get if I brought in the Kyuubi vessel? I'd be a legend."

Naruto growled.

"Don't worry," Sasuke smirked, "they won't kill you. You're a very valuable prisoner."

"And what makes think I want to Kohona's pet?"

"If you don't, I can blame Hinata for this whole thing. How do you think her family will react when they find out she destroyed my home, abandoned a mission, and associated with a known criminal?"

"I'm not a criminal..."

"You are to these people."

Naruto knew everything Sasuke had said was true. He knew that Hinata would be severely punished. Going to live with the Uchihas was a minor punishment, and he had heard enough about the Hyuuga clan to know they meant business. He had heard of the Caged Bird Seal, and other instances he's rather keep Hinata out of. Sasuke saw the surrender in his eyes before the blond said a word.

"Alright."

Sasuke smirked. "Hold out your hands..._demon_."

Naruto looked ready to strangle the youngest Uchiha; but he knew it would be useless. He held out his hands and allowed Sasuke to shackle them. Naruto sensed the chakra flowing through the iron before the shackles even reached his wrists. Itachi appeared before them as Sasuke was shackling the demon. The elder Uchiha smirked and then kicked the poor blond in the side, forcing him to fall to the ground, wincing.

"Good work little brother."

"Hn."

* * *

"You have to take me back there!" Hinata demanded of the giant frog whose back she was currently occupying.

"It's no wonder that baka loves you! You're as loud as he is! Well actually...that's probably not possible..."

Gamabunta came to a screeching halt in the middle of a forest.

"What are we doing here?"

"We're waiting for Enzera and sand boy."

"Shouldn't we be helping Naruto?"

"Now why would we do that? You're boyfriend is a reckless fighter. Trust me, doesn't want you anywhere near there."

Suddenly Enzera appeared in a swirl of wind and laid a bleeding Gaara on the ground. She pushed chakra into her hands and Hinata watched the wound on the red haired boy heal right before her eyes.

"Couldn't he do that himself?" Hinata asked sliding down the giant toad.

"Normally he could," Enzera said, without pausing to look up from Gaara's wound, "but his demon is unconscious. I interrupted the removal process, so there's no telling what effect that will have on the demon or his body, but I have a feeling healing the gaping hole in his chest is a good place to start," she chuckled. She looked up and her smile faded when she noticed an absence of sunny bond hair among them.

"Where's Naruto?"

Hinata lowered her eyes. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Gamabunta," she called running toward the giant amphibian, "do you know where Naruto is?"

The giant frog looked down on the girl's pleading silver eyes and sighed. "The last time I saw him, his eyes were red, and focused on the Uchiha home."

Enzera looked up toward the sky and whispered, "Naruto...what have you done?"

* * *

"What's this?" said the Hokage as the Uchihas pushed Naruto into the old man's office.

"This," said Itachi smirking, "is the container of Kyuubi no Yoko."

"And why, Itachi Uchiha, would you present me with such a...gift?"

"I would like to turn him over to you and the village council to punish him as you deem fit."

The Hokage nodded. "I will summon the council and the ANBU generals and we shall decide what to do with this boy."

Naruto focused on the grains in the old wooden floor that stinging at his bare knees. The Uchihas had stripped him of all his weapons and clothes, save his boxers. They didn't feel it was appropriate to present him to the Hokage in the nude. However, with his shirt gone, the Kyuubi seal was in plan sight, leaving no doubt that Naruto was indeed that demon lord's cage. The only thought that kept him going was that he hadn't given up hope. He knew he couldn't escape, but if Hinata got out of this alright, then he would be okay.

Naruto was brought before the village council about an hour later. He would not look at them, but he could feel their stares drilling holes through his tan flesh. They gawked at him like he was a circus sideshow; just as they had all those years ago.

"Attention everyone," the Hokage spoke. The murmuring amongst the council members ceased. "The Uchihas claim that this boy is the vessel for the Nine Tailed Fox. It is plain by the seal on his chest that they are telling the truth. They have assured me that the chains will prevent him from doing harm to any present, so try him as you wish."

One woman spoke up: "They have no requests for his fate?"

The Hokage sighed, "Only that he is turned over to the village council, and that we choose a fitting fate."

The woman scoffed. "Punishment is more like it."

Another man spoke. "I agree. This boy is responsible for the death of thousands and should be punished."

"I didn't kill those people!" Naruto shouted in his defense.

"Ah, so it speaks."

Naruto narrowed his eyes but refrained from growling. "I...I didn't kill anybody," he whispered this time.

"Really? Then care to explain how over a thousand of our best ninja died that night?"

"The Fox attacked Kohona..."

"Yes, and it killed them."

"Yes, _Kyuubi_ killed those people! _I _didn't!"

Another man arched an eyebrow at the blond. "According to that mark on your abdomen, young man, you are indeed the Nine Tailed Fox."

"No..." he whispered, but it was in vain. The council had already decided that he was guilty. This was never a trail; it was a death sentence from the moment he was pushed into the room.

"So..." the Hokage spoke for the first time since he had addressed the council. "What is our decision?"

"I believe we've established that he deserves to be punished," the elderly woman said.

A man in the council then motioned to the two ANBU standing on the outskirts of the room. "You, take him to a holding cell until we decide what to do with him. Extra security if you please."

The two ANBU nodded and grabbed a hold onto Naruto. The blond couldn't see their faces due to their porcelain animal masks, but just from their grips he could sense the hostility they bore toward him.

"I didn't kill anybody..."

END CHAPTER TEN

* * *

**A/N: Once again, I apologize for taking so long to update. I was planning for this to be the last chapter...but while I was writing this...well as you can see the plot got just a bit thicker...however I, once again, don't have any more of this story on file. **

**Gaara: Oh, great! We're just going to be stuck here forever aren't we?**

**Me: Well...not forever...per-say...**

**Sasuke: We're doomed!**

**Me: Well...you're not doomed...per-say**

**Naruto: I'm never going to see Hinata again am I?**

**Hinata: Um...I'm right here...**

**Naruto: Oh...well...in that case...**

**Gaara: In that case...what?**

**Naruto: -scratches back of head- well...I never thought it through that far...**

**Sasuke: Whatever, we're still doomed...all we can do now is pray for reviews...**


	11. The Trial

**Hey guys! Thanks so much to all the support I've been getting for this story! You guys rock! I'm really trying to buckle down and get this story done. Not that I don't like it or anything, cause I'm really proud of how this has progressed, but at the same time I have like four stories going at once and its just a bit crazy when I stop to think about it. The other problem I've been experiencing is the lack of pre-written chapters. I often write several chapters ahead for a story so I can go back and make edits if I need to, but this one I actually ran out fo chapters so I was sort of hanging on for dear life for a while. So overall its been a fun experience...**

**By the way...this isn't the last chapter, I just felt like reflecting :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any of the characters/plots; I do however own the plot of this story and the charcter Enzera. Thank You.**

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The only light that shone into Naruto's cell was barely even light at all. After he had been so kindly dismissed from the presence of the Kohona council, he had been dragged down dark corridor. The entire trip had been a pool of darkness--thanks to a certain blindfold--and Naruto could only guess when he passed beneath the dim ceiling lights. His journey had ended painfully when the sound of rust worn hinges was followed by his head forcefully coming in contact with concrete. His blindfold hand been removed--he assumed it didn't make much of a difference if he saw the inside of his cell--so he was left to sit quietly in the dark; hopeless and weighted by the thick chains that manacled his wrists, ankles, and neck.

His plotting mind had been temporarily delayed in the council chamber, and he knew it. He had accepted that the chains could not be removed, and he didn't want to get on the council's bad side. He mentally slapped himself. Had he really expected a fair trial? Yet somehow, in the back of his mind, he had hoped that the people of Kohona would spare him. The leaf village had once been his home. He was never exactly welcome, but it was home none the less. He sighed. He was attempting to fool himself again. Home was never Kohona. Home was with Enzera. With Gaara. With Hinata.

He sighed again. There was no hope of escape. Even if he did manage to get through the ANBU guards or break through the chakra-enforced concrete, it would all be in vain. Naruto had become a marionette on the Uchiha's stage. As long as they held Hinata's future in the left hand, the right was free to manipulate Naruto's strings. He sighed again. If dancing like a puppet meant Hinata would be okay, they he would walk to his execution on his won behalf.

If the council sentenced him to death--witch he knew the old bastards would--then he would die. It was only a matter of how. He wasn't easily killed, he knew that from experience. He had tried to take his own life on enough occasions to know that his death was difficult. Vessel and demon both knew that they shared the same fate as far as mortality went: if Naruto dies, Kyuubi dies too. The blond was sure that the council knew this. In fact, he was sure that to kill Kyuubi was their ultimate goal. What they probably weren't familiar with, though, was the lengths that Kyuubi would go through to remain amongst the living. Whether or not Kyuubi was content being a prisoner in Naruto was a mystery to even Naruto, but Naruto--having lived in the woods a great deal of his life--was familiar with the self-preservation instincts of animals. On the occasions that Naruto had tried to end his own life, Kyuubi had stepped in to prevent him. Usually the fox took over the boy's body, or overwhelmed him with chakra causing a loss of conscious, healed his wounds, even talking Naruto out of it had sometimes helped. Kyuubi was in Naruto's head. It was a position that often had its disadvantages--like you would want to hear a hormonal teenager's perverse thoughts--but the advantages were useful. Kyuubi could influence the boy's thoughts, or at least cause him to dwell upon the images that meant so much to the blond.

This being said, the great fox noticed when the shinobi in which he resided had lost hope. Kyuubi had seen the boy broken before--he had been the one to thwart the suicides after all--but never had he seen Naruto like this. Inner Naruto, the representation that dwelled in the boys mind when he was in desperate emotion, moved tentatively toward the large fox's cage.

The boy's face was pale, almost sickly looking, but his eyes, having been washed with his own salt tears shone bright. It was almost enough to pull as Kyuubi's ancient heart. Almost.

"Kit..." Kyuubi began gently.

Naruto looked up at the large fox and sniffed rather pathetically. Now if there's one thing Kyuubi can't stand, it's the pathetic.

"Look at yourself! You're an absolute disgrace! You're pathetic! An army of maniacal ninjas? Why not? He goes off to fight them! Jumping off a cliff? Why not!? Sounds like fun! But and bunch of insignificant, insolent, incompetent, crust-muffin elders, and he freaking CRIES!"

"Why do you care!?" Naruto snarled. "You don't care about me! You certainly don't care about Hinata! All you care about is saving your own fluffed-up ass!!"

"Stop being so noble! It's going to get you killed! In fact, it's already working!"

"You are the most self-centered bastard! Especially since this is your own damn fault!!"

"Oh, because I'm the one who chained you up and threatened to destroy your girlfriend! Oh yes! I can see how this is all my fault! Thanks so much for putting it in perspective for me!!"

"You bastard! You're not helping at all! In fact...when was the last time you helped me hmm? Coming out to help me attack Uchiha certainly ended well!"

"Would you stop trying to blame me and focus for just one second of your life?"

"That's right! It's my life! That fact that it just got linked to yours is not my problem!!"

"Well then, Naruto, mind explaining to me how you plan to save this precious life of yours?" Kyuubi asked in an almost-whisper.

Naruto was silent. Though the demon's last shout still reverberated off the walls of the chasm that was Naruto's mind, the whisper struck the deepest.

Naruto sighed. "I don't."

Kyuubi raised and eyebrow, signaling that the boy should continue.

"I don't plan to save my life. If keeping releasing Hinata from the Uchihas' grasps means death, I'll tie my own noose. Extra tight."

"I see..." the old fox said narrowing his eyes. "Yet, I find this very situation rather...strange..."

Naruto looked at him suspiciously. "How so?"

"Well...why would the Uchihas possibly want you dead?"

"I'm your vessel."

"Yes, I believe we've established that. But, the Uchihas are after something much more difficult to obtain than mere vengeance. Those boys want power. And I can tell just by seeing their eyes that they'd go through some rather...extensive lengths to procure said power."

"So how would my death bring them power?"

"That's just it. Wouldn't it make more sense for the Uchihas to enslave you once more? Bring you into their company as their own personal weapon? They obviously know how destructive you are, and as long as they can dangle Hinata's future above your head, you'll gladly jump."

Naruto remained silent, secretly urging the old fox to continue.

"So why dead? Think about it Naruto. They don't want to mar their delicate reputations by associating with a demon. Their way to power is through the heir to the Hyuuga clan, the most prestigious family in Kohona. Destroying their house, running away...those are petty crimes. Those can be easily blamed on you. Hinata wouldn't we barred from her clan for that. Those are only excuses to remove you from their path to glory."

The anger was slowly building up inside Naruto.

"With you dead, there is no one to protect Hinata. There is no one to stop them. If you think you death will free her, you are terribly mistaken. Your death will only tighten her shackles. You will have signed her death warrant with your pointlessly spilled blood."

Naruto leaned back slowly against the wall parallel to the thick door of his cell. He stared aimlessly into the almost-light, the sheer logic of Kyuubi's words haunting him. The fox only added to the repulsively loud silence that only increased the small room's tension exponentially. After an immeasurable while, the blond boy sighed and opened his eyes. The crystal blue orbs were now filled with determination, strength, and love.

"Alright Kyuubi. You've got my attention. Tell me your plan."

Kyuubi let out a small, albeit dark chuckle. "It's about time kit."

* * *

Naruto had been meditating to save up his strength when he heard the faint sound of boots on the stone floor, and they were drawing closer. Naruto smirked to himself; those ANBU probably thought they were being absolutely silent, but Naruto could hear them clear as day. Naruto sighed to regain focus; making fun of the ANBU wasn't going to help anybody.

The door creaked open, and to Naruto's surprise, a third figure materialized in the doorway. He recognized him as the Third Hokage. Now there was something--or someone really--that Naruto hadn't seen coming.

Naruto averted his eyes from the old man's face to his barely visible shoes.

"You know," said the blond softly, "I once aspired to be you."

The Hokage sighed. "If it's any consolation, I voted for you be let free."

Naruto looked into the man's withered face, into his wise eyes. "It means a lot actually. It's nice to know that not everyone thinks of me as a monster."

The Hokage looked at the teen before him and something told the old man the boy hadn't give up yet. The villagers hadn't broken him all those years ago, he wondered if they ever would.

"Well," said Naruto standing up--one of the ANBU reached for his weapon holster--"let's get this show on the road." He gave the ANBU a menacing glare. Naruto walked straight through his cell door, the ANBU scrambling to regain the composure that made them appear that they were within control of their prisoner. Somehow, all present knew that they weren't. The Hokage smirked, and expression Naruto didn't miss.

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto. You are charged with the destruction of Kohona and the death of the following ninja: ..." the list went on for an unknown amount of time. Naruto glared at the fox in his mind.

"You killed all those people?!"

"It was in self-defense!"

"...More recently, you are charged with the destruction of the Uchiha compound and kidnapping of Hinata Hyuuga."

Naruto's head visibly shot up at the mention of Hinata's name. Naruto looked darkly at the Uchihas who were sitting in folding chairs beside the elders on the wooden platform where he was currently sitting. Sasuke smirked at him. Naruto growled. The man seated closest to him gave him a kick, muttering what sounded to be "filthy demon."

"It is the wish of the council of Kohona that this boy we put to death as punishment for all of the crimes that I have just presented to you, the people of Kohona. If anyone has any wishes to argue why his life should be spared, please spe---"

"Speak now or forever hold your peace?" came an unmistakable female voice, "What is this? A wedding?"

Every person in the crowd looked up toward the Hokage Mountain, to see three figures. Their features were not distinguishable, due to the sun shinning directly behind them, but--as if to save them the trouble of going blind--one leapt onto the stage, and was immediately recognized.

"Is that Enzera?"

"The assassin?"

"No way?"

"The one who killed all those ANBU?"

"Yeah I think so..."

It was then that the screaming and running began.

"Ahh, sweet chaos," chuckled Enzera. Then her silver eyes turned to Naruto, "Need some help there brat?"

Naruto smiled as she cut the chains. If he had blinked he would have missed the entire process. Enzera checked to make sure that the cuts the chakra induced blade has inflicted on the blond were healing properly, before she turned to the people on the stage as Naruto had already done. Enzera watched as a ripple ran up Naruto's spine. She narrowed her eyes.

"Naruto..." she said in a warning tone.

"Yeah, I know," the blond replied quietly.

The elders on the stage were frozen with fright, except one. Despite the Hokage's look of terror, his scent remained calm. When people are truly afraid, adrenaline and sweat are generated by their bodies, but no such chemicals existed in the usual abundance for the old man. Enzera gave him a nod of understanding.

It didn't take the ANBU long to surround the two vessels.

"Naruto," said Enzera, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "we should go."

"Yeah. We should."

"Do you have enough chakra?"

"I might..."

"That's too dangerous here."

Mind you, this discussion was occurring as they fought off the twelve ANBU. Suddenly, Enzera grabbed Naruto, hoisted him onto her back, and ran.

"Listen Naruto," she said.

"Hm?"

"You are dangerously low on chakra and I'm afraid of what Kyuubi will do if you let him out while we're inside Kohona."

"Mmkay."

"So we're going to meet with Hinata and Gaara now."

"Hinata's house?"

"Yes."

"Letter?"

"I have it with me."

"Okay," said Naruto softly, and he passed out on Enzera's shoulders.

END CHAPTER ELEVEN

* * *

**A/N: Well there you have it! Sorry that its not that long--I did by best! What will probably be the final chapter is in the works. If you have any question, comments, suggestions, or deep set hatreds, I suggest you review and I'll see what I can do for you. As always, I look forward to hearing what you have to say :)  
**


	12. Trying to Let Go

**Hey everyone! Remember how I said this would be the last chapter...well, its a funny story really. I can't seem to end it. I'm only prolonging my own pain, and yet, the story is not yet complete. My incentive to work on others in declining because I'm so close to finishing that I can taste it, as they say. So, no final reflections just yet. I'm sure you're getting sick of reviewing but I always lok forward to them anyway :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...you wouldn't know by how prolonged this has been would you? Darn those fillers. **

* * *

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Gaara!!"

"What?"

"You didn't have to knock her unconscious!"

"On the contrary, she refused to be left here."

Naruto sighed. He had expected that she would resist but in all seriousness, he was not good for her, and she knew; at least, he thought that she knew it. She was smart, it was one of the countless seemingly shallow reasons that he had fallen it love with her. He called his reasons shallow because no matter how much he loved her, for her mind, her body, the very essence of her soul...it didn't seem like enough. There were not enough reasons, in his mind, for him to even be worthy of a passing glace from the white-eyed girl, but she was his infatuation, the fiber of his being--his everything. As ridiculous as it sounded, he knew that despite what he felt, and what she thought, this--this attempt at happiness, would only bring suffering; damned if you do, damned if you don't, as they say.

"N-Naruto?" came a faint voice.

Naruto turned his gaze to the angel on the black leather couch before him, he bent down in front of her face, hearing his knees crack as made his way to her eye-level.

"Hey Hinata-chan" Naruto whispered, trying to maintain a smile. He feared that if he brought his voice above the volume at which it currently resided, his voice, and with it his resistance would crack; he would change his mind and doom them all.

"Where am I?" she said softly, rubbing her eyes. She tried to sit up, but winced, and proceeded to lower herself back down. "Are we back at the cottage?"

"No Hinata," Naruto said gently, pushing her bangs out of her eyes, "we're in Kohona. At your--err--home."

"My home's with you Naruto-kun."

Naruto felt the tears beginning to form in his eyes, but maintained his composure.

"And mine is with you Hinata-chan. I love you so much that it hurts."

"I-I don't want you to hurt..."

Naruto sighed deeply. It was hard talking to Hinata while she was like this. She was a new level of innocence that her former shy-ness couldn't even scratch. Naruto sighed again.

"Hinata, I don't want to hurt you either, but you have to understand, that I'm no good for you. I'm always on the run, always being chased, and constantly bringing myself so close to death that the demon himself has shaken in fear...my life isn't pleasant. It's not something that I can drag you into, even if you want to come. The single beacon of light in my world has been you. It's been a light of such brilliance that, for a while, I was blind to all things else...but now, seeing you like this, and..." Naruto swallowed, "seeing you...like _that..._it nearly ripped my heart out."

Hinata looked at him with such clear eyes, that he could see the tears beginning to form.

"Hinata I have to go..."

"I can go with you..."

"No! Hinata!" Naruto shouted as he stood up abruptly. Hinata looked almost terrified. "Why are you so obsessed with me? I'm not a good person! I'm not!!" He paused and scrunched up his eyes. "Why...why do you have to love me as much as I love you?"

Enzera stood up suddenly. "Naruto, we have to go. Now."

"Naruto you can't leave me here!"

The sound of a loud clamor outside and people banging on the door was soon heard. Hinata's name was shouted so she looked to the door. She looked back to take one last look at the blond, who had been the blinding light in her world for the past month or so...and now, he was gone. Gone. The word echoed in her head like and like anything else ominous, it left her feeling colder than her nerves could comprehend. She was thrust once more into a deep slumber.

* * *

A soft murmur came from Hinata's throat as she strained to pull herself into consciousness. All the while, she heard a male voice calling her name, and she wanted to slap whoever it once upside the head for disturbing her concentration. She was trying to wake up damn it! How hard was it to leave a girl alone!? Unfortunately, the voice was soon joined by a chorus of male voices, until they were hushed by a small female voice. As she drew nearer and nearer to the plane of consciousness, she recognized the voice as her sister's.

"Hinabi?" she said softly as she opened her eyes.

Her younger sister's eyes widened as she smiled, and she embraced her elder sister. She pulled back, and just to assure everyone that it was indeed Hinabi and not some overly nice clone she said,

"You're alive! Finally!"

In the next hour or so, Hinata's entire family especially her father, fussed over her and talked about she must have been in hell dealing with demons and such. Hinata managed to maintain a pained smile, but no one seemed to notice the tears threatening to brim. After all, she was a ninja; shinobi do not show emotion in battle.

The entire time, Neji was seated in the far corner of the room, gazing at his cousin with great interest and scrutiny. He as close to his cousin, and she seemed different. He had confirmed with his Byakugan that it was indeed Hinata. Yet he remained puzzled; she was hiding something. He glanced at the clock, and clearing his throat, announced that it would probably be best if Hinata went to bed after her long day. Everyone else readily agreed and, as Hiashi praised Neji for his insight, Neji's inner self dead-panned at the man's utter stupidity when it came to woman. It was a miracle in of itself that the man had gotten himself a wife, let alone reproduce twice.

Neji watched as his cousin silently thanked him, and he gave her a reassuring nod. His eyes held a promise that he would come to check on her soon. _Neji_ understood women.

* * *

About half an hour after Hinata had been permitted to go to bed, Neji passed by the door, and heard muffled sobs. He peered through the door and saw his cousin crying. He knocked gently. He heard a sniff or two before Hinata softly bade him to enter.

Upon walking into the room he quietly shut the door, and sat down with Hinata on her bed. She was wearing soft pajamas, a luxury he assumed she had missed. He asked her what was wrong. His cousin only buried her head in her pillow. He obviously needed to ask more specific questions.

"Hinata, did he hurt you?"

"Who?"

"That demon boy. Did he hurt you?"

"Naruto would never hurt me! Never!"

"But someone did hurt you?"

Hinata but her lip in contemplation before saying, "No. I'm fine."

Neji nodded. He had no clue what she was talked about, but nodding seemed to reassure her a bit. In truth, he was completely and utterly confused.

"So then, why are you crying?"

"Because I love him and I'll never see him again!" she said as she plunged her face into he already wet pillow.

Neji sighed. Maybe he didn't understand women as well as he previously thought. They were confusing. He needed time to decipher what his cousin had said. He walked over to her desk to see that clothes he didn't recognize had been unceremoniously draped over the chair. He rand his hand over the unfamiliar fabric, realizing these must have been the clothes that they gave her. The material was far from that of a prisoner. It was actually high-end ninja garb. As he studied the clothing, he apparently shifted it in such a manner that a pocket was emptied. The contents happened to a small white envelope, which dropped on the floor. The writing on the cover showing Hinata's name in an elegant script that he did not recognize. Hinata heard the shuffling of paper and looked up to see Neji with the paper in his hands.

"Neji-nii? What is that?"

Neji didn't answer as he read over the paper with a frown mixed with confusion and some understanding. It was an odd expression to say the least.

"Neji...?" Hinata asked again.

The elder boy merely handed the letter to her and said softly that he thought she should read it, as he sat in the desk chair to steady himself.

Hinata took the paper form him tentatively and she began to read:

_Hinata-chan,_

_I'm sure you don't recognize the handwriting, because I'm dictating this to Enzera from my cell. You've got to love the mind link. I think Enzera's going to fix my grammar. You can just pretend that it's crude. Enzera is currently angry that I'm having her refer to herself in the third-person or whatever as she writes this for me. She thinks it's weird. I think it's awkward and kind of funny. I'll let you decide where you stand on the whole topic. I'm not sure what to say other than just ramble, since I'm not very good at being serious, you wouldn't know by hanging out with me or anything, now would you? See? There I go again. I'll try to focus now for both your and Enzera's sake. _

_Hinata-chan,_

_Let me just begin by saying I love you. Nothing you do will ever change that, but I want you to be happy. No matter how much you protest, you can't be happy with me. I can't be happy without you, but I will survive as I always have, and you will live better away from me as well. I will also say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for taking you away from the Uchihas, but I felt it was right at the time. I don't think he would have gone through with it, there's too much at stake for him there, I was foolish. I'm sorry for being incredibly stupid when I fought your cousin. It's true, I wouldn't have hurt him because I know you like him and stuff, but I should have not gotten myself knocked out. I'm sorry I blew up a house and almost got you killed. Well, actually I'm not sorry about the house thing, but I will never forgive myself for almost getting you killed. I'm sorry for letting Enzera train you. That might seem rather stupid, but now you're going to know assassin techniques, and people might get suspicious of you. I'm sorry for leaving you on a giant frog, only because it might have frightened you. Most people aren't used to frogs the size of several story buildings. I'm sorry, for once again, being a total moron and getting myself arrested. It was dumb, and caused a whole new load of problems. Finally, I'm sorry for taking my shirt off and caring you inside. Do you remember that? It's when I first started falling in love with you, and I shouldn't have done that. Maybe it when you first started falling in love with me, I don't know, but it was then that I became blinded by, well, you. If I don't get a chance to tell you before I run like a coward, know that you are the light in my world. You are a beacon of such magnitude that I become blind to everything else, and those are my words just so you know. Enzera didn't help. Betcha didn't know I had poet potential huh?_

_Here's where I wanted to devote a paragraph to how I feel about you, but Enzera has gotten annoyed with me trying to put it into words, so, I'll leave you with the fact that how I feel cannot be put into words, so, sorry, no paragraph, only the same overused simple words. _

_Here's the thing though, as much as I love you, I have feeling you love me back just as much. That has to stop. I want nothing more than to spend all of eternity with you by my side, but since it doesn't look like it's going to happen, I'll settle for you being happy. Let my memory go, for your own sake. I promise that I won't kill myself, I would risk never seeing you again in this life, for I have no where to go, and no one to move on to. You, on the other hand, have your whole life ahead of you. Be bold and be yourself and every man in Kohona will grovel at your feet. You kick ass now, remember? Just don't ever forget it. If you can't forget me, at least make yourself happy, and know that that will make me happy._

_If I never see you again in this world, know that I want to, and if I do, know that Enzera and Gaara will both kick my ass for it, so you won't have to feel guilty. If I never see you again in this world, know that I'll try my hardest to get to heaven, so that I can see you, for you will surely be there, an angel in life and in the afterlife. _

_I love you._

_I will never hate you. Ever._

_Naruto_

END CHAPTER TWELVE

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**And there you have it! The letter is proabably my favorite part of the stroy so far. It's so sweet, but also funny, and very Naruto...well at least the Naruto from this stroy...I've sort of melded him into...something...which I probably shouldn't do because then I'll get all upset when the Naruto from the actual anime isn't as romantic as he is here. I want to get that letter!! Well, maybe not because that would mean the one I love is leaving me...so...yeah...**

**I'm just rambling now...so Review, and I promise to send good replys!!!**

**-EverPlotting-**


	13. New Proposals

**Hi guys! We're almost there, and I'm getting excited. This chapter took a bit more brainpower to write than I had orginally foreseen. Oh well. Also, the document uploader is beign dumb, so if the format (or other aspects) of this is off, I'm truly sorry. I try to keep things unifrom, but problems often occur. --insert sigh here-- anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any related charatcers, plots, or information. It is solely the property of cooler people.**

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Hinata yawned as she pulled herself out of bed. It had been two years since she last saw Naruto, and in those two short years she had tried to do what the letter had asked of her. She was one of the strongest kunochi in the village and a top medic. However, she had never met anyone else she loved as much as Naruto. Sure, she had dated, but had given up couple months ago because she felt that if she was meant to love another, she would find them, just as she had found Naruto: without even trying. Besides, it was a waste of her salary to go on so many dates. As she tied up her lengthier hair, she heard what sounded like drops of rain against her window. She looked, and saw it a bright and sunny day. She made her way toward her window and opened it. Suddenly, by reflex, she reached out and caught something: a pebble. She looked down to see Kiba waving at her.

"Good morning Hinata!" he called to her.

"Hi Kiba," she looked around. "Did the guard's let you in?" she asked confused. The guards tended to not let anyone in the compound.

"Surprisingly, yes. But probably because it was Neji who was standing guard."

Hinata smiled. Hinata and Kiba had always been really close friends, but Neji believed they could be more, well at least he hoped. Hinata and Kiba would laugh about this when Neji wasn't looking. They knew their relationship would never make it past friends.

"So are you coming down or what?" Kiba said crossing his arms, as if annoyed at her slowness, but a smirk was clearly visible on his whimsical features.

Hinata glanced back into her room. She _could_ walk down stairs and properly wish her father good morning, or she could grab her stuff and go eat breakfast with Kiba on the way to the Hokage's office. She quickly opted for the second choice as she grabbed her backpack and jumped out the window, landing smoothly in front of Kiba.

"Let's go!" he piped happily. Although Hinata had grown out of her awkward shyness, she had no abandoned her quiet ways. It was probably a Hyuuga thing, but she felt it was not right for her to be as loud and as outgoing as Kiba...or Naruto.

Hinata sighed. Despite herself, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Well, she didn't do it as often as she once did, but he would occasionally interrupt her thoughts and she would wonder how he had grown, and if she would ever seen him again. She shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, and Kiba looked at her, concerned. He knew what she had gone through. He wasn't her best friend for nothing. In fact, Hinata had to hold him back from going to kill the Chinas when she told him. It wouldn't have ended well.

A large white dog came bounding up to them and tackled Hinata to the ground. Hinata laughed as she pushed the dog off her body so that she was in a sitting position. She patted the great creature on the head as she wished him good morning. Then she stood up and looked at Kiba.

"I remember when Akamaru was small enough to sit on your head," she laughed.

"Yeah," Kiba said, rubbing the back of his head, "well, he still tries it from time to time."

Hinata laughed again. Akamaru barked as if reminding them that they had somewhere to be.

"Yeah, okay Akamaru, we're going," Kiba said rolling his eyes.

They walked into the Hokage's office. Their old Hokage had died shortly after Naruto's trial incident. The new Hokage was a powerfully strong woman names Tsunade.

The Hokage looked up from her paperwork as the two chunnin and dog stepped into her office. She smiled at them, and laughed, saying that she forgot to tell them that they had the day off. Kiba rolled his eyes and mumbled that she should lay of the sake. This resulted in a book coming in contact with his head. He rubbed it cursing on his way down. Once outside, Akamaru released a series of barks that could only be laughter. Hinata too, chuckled a little as she healed the bruise that was steadily forming on Kiba's head.

"Kiba, you should really watch what you say. She's not the Hokage for nothing, you know."

"Hmph," Kiba said crossing his arms definitely. "I have issues with authority. You should know by now to stop me before I say stupid things."

For this comment he received a smack in the arm from Hinata, which he nursed by rubbing it with his hand.

"So Hinata," Kiba said out of nowhere, "you're twenty-first birthday is coming up isn't it?"

"Yes. It will be in two or three months, why?"

"Well, it never snows here in December, so I was wondering if you wanted dot visit the snow country for your birthday."

"Oh, Kiba, that would be wonderful!" she said embracing him.

"Whoa, stop that," he said jokingly, "you never know when Neji might be watching. I don't want to get killed where I stand."

"Neji likes you."

"He wants me to date you. That doesn't me he wants me to touch you. I have a feeling he hasn't really thought it out that well."

"He just wants me to be happy."

"We all do Hinata," he said smiling.

"Well that was, erm, cryptic," Hinata said raising an eyebrow as she released Kiba.

The brunette laughed. "I didn't mean anything weird by it."

"Good," Hinata said smirking, "otherwise I'd have to inform Shikamaru that you guys were longer an item."

"Shhh!" Kiba hissed. "He wants to keep it a secret!"

Hinata laughed again.

As they approached the Hyuuga complex, Hinata bid Kiba a good morning, and entered her home. As she removed her shoes she hummed a tune quietly to herself. Apparently, however, it was not quiet enough, as her father immediately summoned her into the living room. Not thinking anything of it, Hinata willingly walked into the room where she knew her father would be sitting. What she did not expect to see was another person in the room with him.

Across from her father sat Uchiha Sasuke.

Hinata's gaze upon the intruder became instantly frigid, but he seemed unaffected as he looked at her smirking. She could only guess what this could be about, and all of her guesses pointed to things witch where not good.

"Where were you this morning Hinata?"

Hinata could tell exactly what her father was asking her. He was really asking why she left directly from her room. Obviously, Sasuke had been there early, and Hiashi had no way of knowing that his daughter would not be down in a few minutes. If the silence when she entered the house was any indication, that is.

"I thought I had mission, father," she said. What she was really saying was that she was not sorry she had not had the pleasure or greeting Sasuke this morning.

Hiashi didn't seem to get the message. In fact he looked slightly relieved that she wasn't avoiding him. The man really was a fool. It was then Hinata noticed the other man in the room was her beloved cousin. He was sitting there looking at her as if urging her to run. She could only imagine why. Yet both knew that there was no escape from the fly trap that was currently her living room.

She sat down next to her father and waited for whatever wonderful news he had for her.

"Well, I have very good news for you."

Wonderful, very good, they were all one in the same.

"Mr. Uchiha here has requested your hand in marriage."

"What?" Hinata said shocked.

"I thought you'd be surprised. I have agreed to it already. You will be married on your twenty-first birthday."

"Excuse me," she said standing up, "this is a bit of a shock. Please give me a minute to compose myself."

Hinata tried not to bold out of the room like lighting. Even if she did, she doubted her father would have noticed. Sasuke would have, but he wouldn't have cared. He knew that she despised him. She flopped down on her bed and cried for a few minutes and then decided to meditate. She would figure out a way out of this marriage. She would.

It was morning when she came out of her trance. She hadn't yet come up with a solution, but she felt a bit better having meditated. She resolved to talk to Kiba about it. That and she promised to never use her front door again. It only led to trouble. She jumped out of her window landing and a small cloud of dust flew up where she landed. Autumn was a approaching, and with it came a dryer heat. She would have to keep her skills in top condition if she didn't want to kick up a dust storm. But today, she wasn't worried about that. She needed to see Kiba.

She knocked on Shikamaru's door. The boy had been living by himself since he was eighteen so his parents weren't around to answer it for him anymore. He didn't look too happy about being visited in the morning though.

"Hinata?" he said yawning. 'What are you doing here?"

"Is Kiba there?"

If Shikamaru was surprised he didn't show it at all. Figures Kiba would tell his best friend.

"He's in the kitchen. Come in."

"I don't want to bother you..."

"You are one of the few people whose presence I can tolerate. Please come in," he said with a slight smile.

He led her into the kitchen where Kiba was eating.

"Oy, Dog-boy," Shikamaru called, "you've got a visitor."

Kiba looked up as he swallowed the last of his breakfast.

"Hinata?"

Hinata couldn't help herself. She just started crying.

Shikamaru sighed. "I'll leave you two alone then."

Kiba sat Hinata down next to him and handed her a box of tissues.

"Hinata, what's wrong?"

Hinata proceeded to explain the entire situation to Kiba. Even including how she had spent all night trying to think of a solution with no avail. When her story was finished, Kiba looked ready to eat Sasuke alive.

"That bastard," he said. "If I was strong enough to kick his ass..."

"Kiba, killing him won't solve anything," her tears having stopped by now. "It is my duty to my family and the people of this village to marry him."

"What, Hina--"

"Please understand Kiba. I hate the Uchihas, but I'm strong enough now that I can defend myself against Sasuke. He won't hurt me because there's no one around to blame now. He only wants the power of the Hyuuga clan. I will be fine in his care."

"But you won't be happy," Kiba pointed out solemnly.

"Some day I might be," Hinata said looking out the window, "but I've come to terms with the fact that it was never my destiny to be happy. My life was never laid out so that I could succeed. It was a random coincidence that I was happy for a short period of time. I'm content with those memories."

"No. You're not."

Hinata sighed. "So maybe I'm not, but I'll have to be. The village council fears the Uchihas. If I don't accept this marriage, who knows what the consequences will be. It could mean war, and Sasuke knows that. I don't' want people to die just because I don't' want to get married."

Kiba looked at her for a moment and then smiled softly.

"Hinata, you are the bravest person I have ever known. I just want you to know, that I will take you to the snow country some day, and that I will always be your friend."

Hinata smiled gratefully. She would make it through this. Somehow...

END CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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**A/N: Well, I hoped you liked. I bet you didn't see the marriage coming did you. (If you did just humor me, okay?) What will happen? Only I know. I hold the future in my hands. Bwahahaha! **

**Questions? Comments? Review and I'll do my best to help you out.**


	14. Well, At Least the Dress Is Nice

**Hi again guys! I'm sure you're getting tired of me promising an ending and not bringing you one. Well, I'm once again reporting the non-end is here. I swear I'm not trying to milk it for more than it's worth, but you know how it is. Maybe you don't. What do I know anyway? The end is near, but it seems to slip through my fingers every time I sit down to write. I hope you're not too mad. --sheepish smile--**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and my OC isn't in this chapter so this disclaimer should be really short this time...oh crap.**

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Hinata sat in her living room across from the devil himself: Sasuke. Both sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. One perfectly content with the silence, in fact he was relishing it. The other was preying that her Byakugan would somehow morph into a new bloodline and flames would shoot out of her eyes and melt the raven-haired man across from her. Finally losing her patience, Hinata slammed down her tea cup and glared at Sasuke.

"Why did you request this marriage?"

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said placing his tea down gently and resting his chin against his folded hands,

"I thought my motives were obvious."

Hinata just arched and eyebrow impatiently, motioning for him to continue.

"First off, I would like to apologize for my behavior toward you two years ago. It was inappropriate."

Hinata snorted. "Inappropriate is a bit of a euphemism don't you think?"

Sasuke frowned. "Fine. However, I am still apologizing, and I give you my word nothing like it will happen again."

Hinata sighed. "Continue."

"My clan's power is dwindling, and only because my brother and I are the only ones left. We need to extend our power. We have decided that they way to do that is to join with the Hyuuga clan and raise it to its full potential. Therefore, we will not have two separate competing clans; we will have a single al powerful clan."

"I can see how this is potentially a good situation for the future of our clans, but what I don't understand is why you had to marry _me_ specifically."

"You are the heiress to the clan and you have grown extremely powerful over the past two years. I don't want to spend my time with a weakling woman who spends her day drooling over me. You're much more...assertive."

"Nice wording," Hinata said flatly. She had known he was about to say 'feisty' or something along those lines.

"Our marriage would be merely a mutual coexistence. We don't even have to be friends if you'd rather loathe me for al eternity. I, however, will respect you as my equal partner for the sake of our clans."

"Good to know. I still don't like you though."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted as he got up and walked out. Hinata waited until he was gone before putting her head in her hands and groaning.

"What am I going to do?"

* * *

December was approaching and soon invitations were sent out to the nobles of the allied countries. The information was supposed to be top secret, as Hiashi didn't want anyone to feel as if they would be in danger when coming to a wedding. Talk about irony. Plus it would completely spoil the mood.

Hinata was trying on her dress when she saw a hawk fly by the window. It was odd that such a bird would fly so close. Normally it would be in the forest hunting. Hinata shook her head. She was noticing anything and everything to get her mind off the wedding. What she didn't see though, when she turned back to her mirror, was that just as the bird passed her window it looked through, and then vanished out of the air in a puff of smoke.

Hinata looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled. The dress _was_ beautiful. She never imagined she could look anymore like a goddess. She had thought about the marriage constantly after her conversation with Sasuke. She figured she could always beat him senseless if he tried anything stupid. That and he seemed to have been a little less in favor of drastic measures since his house and plan had blown up in his face. She had to believe, for her own sake, that he wasn't completely heartless. She had to believe that she would be happy. Basically, they would be business partners living in the same house.

She wasn't really into the whole massive wedding thing. She would love nothing more than to have a small wedding with just her family, but alas, her husband thrived off a flashy existence, despite his serious exterior. He could be rather pompous, from this came his foolishness. Inviting nobles via messenger birds from all over, she had tried to tell him, would not keep the wedding a secret; it was, in essence, asking for trouble, via messenger birds.

'_Oh well_,' Hinata thought to herself, '_I have about as much control over that as I do over anything else in this house._"

Hinata, like her cousin, wanted to change the Hyuuga clan and they way things were run. She had put a lot of thought into accepting the marriage. She decided it was for the best in the end. Unless Hiashi appointed Neji to the clan's successor, it was doomed in any other hands.

* * *

"And where do you think you're going?"

"If Hinata is getting married, I would at least like to give her my blessing."

"Please don't do this."

"She's moved on, I can accept that. It's what I wanted after all. Let me at least let her, in my own small way, that this still what I want."

"Fine. The flower of the wedding is the lily."

The blond smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

December 27th had arrived sooner than Hinata had ever believed possible. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her sister was crying next to her at how beautiful she looked, and Hinata herself couldn't help but smile.

He white dress was strapless and was white, but had beading in floral patterns that was so close to white, one could only tell it was purple because it was sitting on her dress of snow. Her hair had been tied up in an elegant fashion, except for a lone long curl that fell toward the side of her face. She looked at the lilies in her smile lessened as she saw the irony. Such a beautiful flower representing death would be carried down the aisle during this celebration of life. She breathed deeply.

"C'mon," she said to Hinabi, "let's go wait for the wedding to begin."

Hinabi led the way out of her room and just before Hinata closed the door she surveyed her room; she could have sworn she saw something. She shrugged away her own thoughts, dismissing it as paranoia and nothing more.

* * *

"Kiba," Hinata said urgently, turning to her best friend, "I left my flowers in my room."

"Okay, well, what do they look like?"

"They're lilies. Could you go get them?"

"Sure thing," Kiba said as he headed for the stairs, only to see that Neji was behind him. Kiba looked at him, and before he could even ask what the boy was doing, Neji answered for him:

"Firstly, I don't trust you up here alone, and second, you have no idea which room is Hinata-san's"

"Good point, lead the way," Kiba said stopping on the stairs allowing Neji to pass by.

Neji moved fluidly up the stairs and opened the second door on the right. He opened the door and both looked around for the flowers.

"Found them," both said at the same time. One picked up a bouquet and the other picked up a crown made of lilies.

"What is that?" said Neji, genuinely curious, as he had never seen the crown of flowers in Kiba's hand before. Just then, a small slip of paper fell from the hoop.

"More importantly, what is that?" Kiba said as Neji picked up the paper.

Neji read aloud. "'I wish you happiness. P.S: Your look amazing.' Do you know what this means?"

Kiba shrugged, "Beats me. Let's just bring the flowers to Hinata."

On that note, the two ninja flew down the stairs so that the wedding could begin. They ran outside where the wedding was taking place. The temperature was comfortable, as it never did get below twenty degrees in Kohona. Hinata was smiling as she saw Neji come running up with the bouquet. That smile vanished when she saw the flower crown.

"Where did you get that?" she asked softly.

"They were in your room. Why?"

"Was there a message with them?"

"Yes, we found this..." Kiba's voice trailed off as he handed Hinata the paper.

Hinata looked over it and then asked if either of them had a pen with them. They both shook their heads, and then gaped when Hinata bit her finger to produce small drop of blood. She moved her bleeding thumb across the paper. Hinata then looked up into the trees and saw a hawk which suddenly flew away.

"There," she said pointing at the bird of prey, "do you see that bird."

"Yes..." they both said hesitantly.

"You need to get this note, to that bird, before I can say 'I do.' I'll explain everything later. Just go!"

Hinata took the bouquet from Neji and placed the flower crown on her head. She suddenly felt as if she was even more a vision of beauty than she was in the mirror in her room. For this time, Naruto was with her.

END CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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**A/N: Well, thanks again for reading and I hope (despite your overwhelming desire to throw sharp pointy objects at me) you spend your time bettering your lives by sending me reviews. You will, of course, recieve responses (if you use a name--if not there's nothing I can do for you...unless you send me like the best review ever, in which case, I'll give you an honorable mention or something...) blah, this is already too long...**


	15. Last Minute Planning

**Okay! Here is Chapter Fifteen! I'm excited because it's the second to last chapter...I'm serious this time...really I am. So read and enjoy, know that our days togethe on this stroy are numbered, so enjoy while you can :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Hinata watched as Neji and Kiba sped out of sight. Though she had accepted the fact that she would have to marry Sasuke, part of her had held onto the fleeting hope that there was a way out. She didn't want to marry Sasuke; she had accepted that it was necessary but it wasn't what she wanted. It seemed that everything she did was controlled by the clan and the clan's expectations and the good of the clan. Of course she was grateful for not having a caged bird seal on her forehead, but why did she have to be the clan heir? Neji was a much better choice.

* * *

Neji blew a strand of hair away from his face. He was used to chasing ninja, maybe a cat or two, but birds? Kiba paused with him and basically voiced Neji's thoughts.

"Any ideas as to why Hinata has us chasing a bird?"

"Nope."

"So why are we doing it?"

"We're desperate," Neji said spitefully. Then they both spotted the bird in a branch above them.

"C'mon," they both said as they sped off after the bird.

After chasing it for an hour more the bird seemed to disappear.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I've ripped by suit and this is going nowhere!"

Even so, they continued to run through the treetops searching for the bird, the next thing Kiba knew he was hitting solid ground.

"Oof."

Kiba moved to stand up but couldn't, for at his throat was a kunai.

"Who are you?" a voice he didn't recognize said.

"I was just about to ask you the same question."

"You're the one who came to me, I'll ask the questions."

Kiba strained his eyes to see a boy with brown hair and green eyes. His skin was dark color and his gaze was cold and piercing.

Just then, Neji jumped into a clearing and was pinned by what was apparently a clone. The clone appeared fascinated by his most recent prisoner.

"Wait a second," the man spoke, "I know you."

Neji narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe you've ever threatened me before. I think I would have remembered."

The man chuckled. "Oh yes. I know you. You're the cousin."

Neji looked ready to rip the man's throat out, well, maybe if it wasn't for the kunai at his own throat and the knee at his chest.

"Who are you? What do you want with Hinata?"

"I am no one and I want nothing," he said cryptically. Then he paused and looked over Neji and Kiba's tattered clothes. "Shouldn't you be at a wedding?"

"Well we would, be we were chasing a bird," Kiba grumbled.

The man's green eyes peered at Kiba. The looked up at a branch behind the boys head.

"That bird?"

Kiba looked up and felt the kunai leave his throat, as if the man already knew the answer. Kiba nodded.

The man in front of Kiba disappeared. The other removed his knee from Neji's chest and stepped back.

"May I ask why?"

"May I ask why you would like to ask why?" Neji responded crossing his arms.

"Well, for starters, that's my bird," the man gestured to the tree, as if on cue, the bird flew down to rest on the man's arm and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"A summoning."

The man nodded.

Neji then looked at him wearily as if deciding what to do. He sighed then.

"We do have a message from Hinata which we were told to deliver to the bird. Before I give it you, you must show us your true form."

The man smiled. "Darn that Byakugan."

A puff of smoke enveloped him and when it dispersed a man with blond hair, blue eyes, and whisker-like marks on his cheeks stood in the clearing.

"Recognize me now, hair-boy?"

Neji scowled. "The demon boy."

Naruto frowned in response. "How can I help you gentlemen?"

Kiba produced the message from Hinata and said, "I believe this is for you."

The blond boy scanned the message and recognized it as his own. The flipping it over he saw the blood. The kanji for 'hate' was written in the dry brownish liquid. The blond brought it to his face and sniffed it deeply.

"Hinata," he said softly.

"You must be Naruto," Kiba said. The blond boy's blue eyes didn't leave the note as he nodded. His eyebrows were knitted in frustration deciphering the note.

"Um...would it be too much trouble to ask what that note means?" Kiba said. Neji punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not really sure. A note that says 'hate' usually implies that someone would not want you in their life. However, this note was written in blood, implying that she wrote it urgently _and_ she had you two chasing after the bird so fervently. If she didn't want me around she could have not responded to my little note. So, I'm concluding that she is about to do something she would normally never do."

"She's getting married to Uchiha."

"What?!" Naruto snarled. "Which one?"

"Sasuke."

Naruto put his fingers into position and his clothing transformed into a nice suit. Neji raised an eyebrow at his actions.

"It's a wedding. Ya' gotta look nice." Then in another puff of smoke he vanished.

"I kinda like that guy," Kiba said grinning.

Neji sighed. "C'mon. Let's go see what he's going to blow up next."

* * *

Kiba and Neji landed behind Naruto who was crouching behind some bushes.

"So," Kiba said, "do you have a plan?"

"Nope," Naruto casually.

"I do like this guy," Kiba said to Neji. Neji smacked him in the head.

"I have a feeling Hinata has a plan. Go find her, let her know I'm here without actually telling her that I'm here. Get it?"

"Yeah," Kiba said, "what then?"

Naruto turned to look at him. "Didn't we establish the whole lack of plan thing?"

Kiba chuckled. "Yeah okay."

* * *

"Hey Hinata," Kiba said as the young woman let him into her dressing room. He had to admit she looked amazing. It was too bad her beauty would be wasted on Sasuke.

"Kiba," she said softly.

Kiba shook his head. "We couldn't catch the bird. A man in the woods helped us though."

"A man...?"

"Yeah. He wasn't all that friendly at first, but he and Neji seemed well acquainted," Kiba smirked at this, but only slightly.

Hinata's eye's widened instantly in recognition. Then she nodded indicating both that she understood and she that had a plan.

"Why don't you go sit down for the wedding Kiba-kun, I have some business to take care of."

Kiba nodded and Hinata moved across the lawn and into the house. She climbed up the stairs in her heels and dress. She couldn't help but admire the agility she had gained in the last couple of years. She approached her father's office and looked the desk; he would have the document she was looking for ready, she knew that. Sure enough, on the top of the desk, was exactly what she was looking for. She scanned it over quickly and saw that her father had already signed it; he probably was planning to present it before the wedding. She rolled up the scroll and put it in its case. She left it on the desk as she moved to the book shelf. Once there, she located a moderately old volume that had been written some nine months before her father's birth. The book contained no index, but, having been forced to study it as a child, Hinata had a general idea where the information she sought was located. Upon finding it she bookmarked the page. On her way out with the book she grabbed the scroll. She snuck into her room and pulled a blank scroll from under her bed. It had been a gift from Enzera.

"Repel, "Hinata said softly as she formed the correct hand sign. Writing appeared on the scroll and she placed the items on tops. A few hand signs and a puff of smoke later, the items seemed to vanish. Hinata reset the scroll to its blank state and put it back under her bed. She smiled, satisfied with herself, and then realized her wedding was going to start in thirty minutes. She rushed down the stairs, cursing her fancy dress and shoes. On her way across the lawn, she spotted from the corner of her eye, a small orange fox that seemed to be smiling at her. The excitement in her chest grew with every beat of her heart.

END CHAPTER FIFTEEN

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**A/N: So there it is! It starting to get exciting once again now isn't. The next chapter will end it, so stay tuned.**

**This is one of your last chances to send a hot-off-the-press review! Act now and experience this once in a llifetime opportunity!**


	16. A Final Bout of Chaos

**It's finally here! The final chapter of "I Could Never Hate You." Since I know you won't want to hear from me ever again after the story is done let me just take the time to rant now. I'd like to thank all of those who've read and the story and esspecially all of those who have reviewed. Believe it or not I do get inspiration from reviews; encouragement, suggestions, and esspecially constructive critisms. Speaking of which I'd like to take a moment to thank "who gives a (insert cuss)" for sending me the anonymous review that inspired the ending of this story. I toyed for a while with rewriting this story; maybe cutting out one of the rape scenes, having the plot make more sense, handling the chracters better, but in the end, I decided that its better to leave it be. It wouldn't be the same for me. I have a feeling I wold completely change the stroy to suit my current writing quirks, and that wouldn't be fair to the integrity of the story, not to mention I probably wouldn't feel the same closeness to it as I do now. Just so you know where I stand if you care...**

**Thank you again for all the reviews, favorites, C2s, suggestions, critisms, praises...and mild threats of course! They have been a great fuel to the hearth of this piece. Thank you all for the hits and continuing to read, even after I so ungracefully abandoned you all. This story is completed today thanks in part to you. **

**Well, before I get choked up and you all get annoyed with my constant stream of words (though most of you probably will disreguard this completely), on to the final chapter, of "I Could Never Hate You"**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, this story wouldn't exist. In short: it's not my property...Naruto that is, the story's mine!!**

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Hinata."

Hinata looked at her father as he walked her toward her, if all goes badly, future husband.

"I'm very proud of you for accepting this responsibility."

"It was not my choice, father."

"Still--"

"Please, spare me the lecture. If you want to wish me happiness, cancel this wedding right now," Hinata said icily as she glared at her father.

Hiashi was at a loss for words. He was used to his quiet obedient flower of a daughter, not the Venus fly trap that snapped at him just now. It seemed completely out of nowhere. He could only stare at her with wide white eyes as she turned her head forward and walked bravely to the alter.

Sasuke looked at Hinata and was astounded. The woman before him was not the girl he knew from his childhood, nor was it the weak girl he had imprisoned two years ago. He mentally winced. He probably shouldn't have done that. Sasuke, though he had grown up significantly in the last two years, knew he would never be completely forgiven for the whole ordeal. His thoughts did not linger long on the subject, for his eyes were too busy starring at Hinata.

"You look amazing."

Hinata glared at him. Sasuke glared back.

"It was meant to be a complement," Sasuke said.

"Listen, I don't like you, I thought I made that clear. We're going to tolerate each other, maybe get along if you're nice, but I do want to enjoy my wedding. So please, don't talk to me," Hinata said. She then smiled slyly and turned to away from Sasuke.

Sasuke was suddenly hesitant. He wanted the power, but did he want it enough to live with a fiery kunoichi for the rest of his life? He gulped. For once, he was unsure of himself.

The time had come for Hiashi to present the document which would turn the Hyuuga clan over to his daughter and her husband. But...

"Where is it?" Hiashi shouted suddenly. "Where's the scroll?"

The wedding was in an uproar. Sasuke looked at Hinata.

"What did you do?" he said dangerously.

Hinata was unfazed by the raven's suddenly crimson eyes. She gestured to Neji and from his garments he pulled a scroll. He handed it to Hinata and gave her a warning look that seemed to ask if she knew what she was doing. Hinata nodded in response, reassuring him. She unwound the scroll and at her feet fell the heavy volume and the other scroll that everyone was looking for. She picked up the older scroll and smiled like a cat.

"Is the scroll you are looking for father?" she asked in a sweet voice that was far too innocent as she mocked her father with her gaze.

Hiashi looked at his daughter incredulously.

"What have you done?"

"I have done practically nothing."

Hinata opened the scroll which already bore Hiashi's signature in his blood and Hinata's in hers. Hinata formed a hand sign and sealed the scroll.

"Well, I am officially in command of the Hyuuga clan. Wasn't that the point?"

"Well, it was, except _my_ signature was supposed to accompany yours," Sasuke growled. It was obviously a fact that Hinata already knew, yet Sasuke felt the need to voice it, probably out of disbelief.

"Oops," Hinata said innocently.

Meanwhile, the smile on orange fox the background grew. Hinata glanced at it and winked, the she could have sworn it copied the gesture.

"Neji," Hinata said looking at her cousin, "would you please come here?"

Neji walked up and Hinata held out the scroll. Neji looked at Hinata as if she had lost her mind, which, at this point, was a significant possibility. Neji bit his thumb and looked at Hinata once again. Hinata again nodded reassuringly and Neji began to write his name.

"You can't do that!" Hiashi shouted.

"Actually, I can."

Hinata picked up the volume and opened to the page she had bookmarked earlier.

"'In the event that the current head of the household,' that would be me, 'wishes to turn over power to another, this other may be a member of the branch household if he or she deems no members of the main house worthy of the title.'"

Hiashi's jaw remained agape as he gawked at his daughter. Obviously when the old tome was written, the writer didn't take into account the fact that the prejudice would ever die. What Hiashi didn't know was that the writer of the law had been purposeful in including the clause in question. The separations were never meant to get so out of control.

Hinata closed the book dramatically with a loud thump, as dust flew off the pages she glared at her father. Neji, having completed his filling out of the scroll, handed it to Hinata who sealed it and then handed it back to Neji.

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata said beaming at him, "you are now in charge of the clan."

As Hinata held the scroll out to Neji, a pale hand grabbed her arm.

"This stops now," Sasuke said, crimson eyes whirring away.

"Yeah," came a deep, yet vaguely familiar voice, "it does."

The next thing anyone knew Sasuke was punched in the face, on the ground, and Naruto was kissing Hinata.

"Hey, Mister minister guy?"

The minister sighed and looked at Naruto wearily. "Yes?"

"Well, I do, and I think she does," Naruto paused to look at Hinata and she nodded and giggled, "so...?"

The minister couldn't help but smile.

"Fine. I pronounce you husband and wife. Go nuts."

Naruto and Hinata laughed and then smiled and then kissed deeply. Kiba hooted and Neji sighed. The rest of the wedding party was completely unsure how to react, well the ones who didn't recognize Naruto anyway. The ones who did...some of them had run away screaming and others were just shouting a lot.

"Well, if we're all done with this," Neji said loudly interrupting the chaos, "I'm going to put these," he said gesturing to the book and scroll, "in a safe place. Possibly in my new office. Hm."

Where was Hiashi through all of this? Well he had merely given up and had settled to sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. Hinata went over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. As she moved away from Naruto he appeared uneasy and glanced at the unhappy audience, secretly pleading that she would take him with her, so that it would be easier to defend his self if this crowd turned ugly, well...uglier. He snickered to himself at his silent insult.

"Hey Dad," Hinata said softly and quietly, as she attempted to ignore the pandemonium behind her. Hiashi looked at her. She suddenly resembled the daughter he had always known.

"I know it's not exactly what you wanted," Hinata continued, "but I promise I'll be happier this way, and Neji will make a great leader. It's time for change dad."

Hiashi sighed in defeat. "Just promise you'll come to visit."

"I love you dad," Hinata said as she embarrassed him.

From behind them came a coughing noise, and Hinata turned to see her now husband motioning toward going, obviously uncomfortable with staying within firing range of the unhappy guests much longer.

"I'm saying goodbye to my father! Go talk to Kiba or something."

Naruto looked taken aback for a moment, but then smiled and walked over to Kiba. How Hinata knew they already friends was a mystery to him, but Neji said it was 'exceedingly noticeable.' It wasn't as if he was going to argue with Hinata anyway.

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Naruto carried Hinata through a threshold she had never seen before. She knew that Naruto and his makeshift family wouldn't stay in one place for long, yet they always seemed to get real nice houses in bizarre locations. Maybe soon she would learn how.

As for now, the last thing Enzera and Gaara were expecting was to see Hinata coming through their door in a bride's dress. For some reason they had both been standing in the front hall upon their arrival. Gaara just smiled and shook his head. It was his way of showing them he was happy for them. Enzera smiled and hugged them both. Upon releasing them she smirked.

"Took you long enough," she said as she lightly smacked Naruto up side the head. Naruto feigned pain as he clutched his mop of hair and Hinata just smiled. She felt at home here, and it only took a few fractions of a minute.

"So, you're married now?" Gaara said raising a nonexistent eyebrow to Naruto.

Naruto smiled. "Shocked I beat you to it?"

"No, I just didn't think Hinata was that stupid."

"That's it!"

Naruto's voice seemed more playful than enraged as he poofed his clothing back to normal. His clothes were different than Hinata remembered, but they still suited him. He no longer wore an excessive amount of orange, but she could make out a patch or two of his signature color. The two males chased each other out back where they wrestled and got dirty. Meanwhile, Enzera took the time to get Hinata's things set up. It was times like these you had to love storage scrolls.

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"Well that was a fun day," said a now shirtless Naruto as he wrapped his arms around Hinata from behind.

He then turned her around and pushed her onto the bed. He leaned down and they kissed each other deeply for several moments. Hinata had to admit to herself that it was weird, getting married in the course of a few minutes like that, but somehow she knew it was right. She knew that no matter how hard she combed the world over no one would be like Naruto. No one would love her as much and no one would be as handsome and no one would be as strong and...at the moment she was thinking no one would be able to kiss like him either.

Naruto brought them out of the kiss panting lightly. They stared deeply into each other's eyes, somehow managing to not explode into laughter, but only chuckle lightly at how cheesy their entire situation was. It was too perfect of a kiss after everything they'd been too, and yet, anything less wouldn't have seemed real. After all, it was hard to top a kidnapping, rape, running away, exploding houses, giant frogs, and gaining the greatest love anyone could ever ask for, unless, of course, they went out with a bang. Naruto, having regained his breath bent in for another kiss, this one equally passionate. It didn't last as long however, because just when they were starting to fall into the true rhythm of the kiss...

"Okay, now that was hot," said a smirking Gaara in the doorway.

"Pervert!" Naruto shouted as he threw a pillow in Gaara's general direction. Gaara's sand shot up automatically, allowing a triumphant yet smug look to wash across the red head's face.

"Well, Naruto," Gaara said softly, "shut the door next time."

Naruto sighed and looked at Hinata.

"You see what I get you into?"

Hinata laughed. "This won't be the worst of it I'm sure."

Naruto smiled and said, "You don't hate me for it?"

Hinata just kissed him again. When they parted she said,

"I think we've covered that."

END

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**A/N: I don't really have a note to say here because I ranted above. If you didn't read it I suggest you do, mostly because I took the time to write it for you!****I hope you've had as much fun with this story as I have.**


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